The Dragon Cauldron
by JeffC FTW
Summary: An unlikely group consisting of a young man, a fairy princess, a soldier and a fox-hermit embark on a magical quest to seek a powerful relic before a ruthless serpentine tyrant does.
1. The Dreams of a Pig Keeper

**To this day, I fail to understand why Disney's "The Black Cauldron" gets the hate it does half the time. Sure, it scared lots of children (including me at that age), but it was a stand-out amid typical Disney fare. Contains great characters no matter if we know less of them, and it was filled with themes like death, demonic rituals and the Dark Ages. :D**

**That said, here comes a brand new story which is a somewhat retelling - NARUTO STYLE! **

**Rated as such for safety, but there will definitely be NIGHTMARISH moments, so be careful. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto; The Black Cauldron belongs to Disney as well as Lloyd Alexander (the author of the series, "The Chronicles of Prydain", in which two of the books inspired the movie).**

Chapter One

The Dreams of a Pig Keeper

_Legend has it in the mystic land of Konoha, there lived a man so cruel and so evil even the gods feared him. _

_Once, he was a hero of his people before personal loss and betrayal overcame reason. He avenged himself against those who wronged him and those he lost, and became overcome with the thirst for power that he turned his back on those remaining who once saw him as a friend, comrade and loved one._

_The myth spoke of the creation by his own hands with the usage of black arts...of the great Dragon Cauldron. It was in this that his spirit would be captured and immortalized, thus death would be impossible. _

_Another price came for the power of the cauldron to work: a life to give, and thus the traitor gave the life of a woman close to his heart without shedding a tear. _

_As the first step, he became known as the Serpent King after breaking free from his former homeland, though he did not yet possess resources to forge his own organization. Hence he was often captured, yet no prison could hold him. Not even what remained of his former friends who sought to defeat him, therefore driving him away into exile...and the Dragon Cauldron itself vanished without a trace. _

_The myth speaks without written account out of fear that the Serpent King lived on, his spirit still connected to the Dragon Cauldron which, for many years after his flee from death and many failed captures, lay hidden and was continually sought after by wicked men - and the serpent himself - with no success._

_Whoever to possess the cauldron would ultimately become the Dragon Emperor as the final step and summon an army of deathless warriors...and rule the world. _

~o~

There was a war going on, yet here he was: hiding away for his own "safety" as well as the well-being of two others he was charged with caring for.

The battle was simply put, but resulted in the deaths of many: Konoha against the dark and powerful Oto which was run by his great enemy he all but gave up on so long ago.

_Orochimaru._

You heard right. His old friend, once trusted comrade, was the leader of the strange but desolate nation that was smaller than this one - deadly and threatening to take over his old home for himself. Sometimes, he wished he killed that traitor himself, which he tried to do when there was no other choice, but no one ever could. _Always slithering like the snake he is...but someday, he could evolve beyond that. _

He tried to get him personally - his own friend - for what he did to first Sayuri whose love for him had been her downfall. She never did anything to deserve that; to trade your beloved for more power when tragedy clouded your judgment!

And to _Tsunade _especially, the woman who loved them both for different reasons - _me the same way Sayuri loved Orochimaru once, the latter who was only a friend to us both -_ all because she tried to stop him from going farther than he already was. Now that she was gone and HE left with a broken heart, he had to protect something special left from her, just so that her death wasn't in vain and their home safe. So, here he was living in a quiet cottage within the forest not far away from the village of Konoha. Even raising a small farm because it was a purpose, and not too big but was better than nothing at all.

Jiraiya, the retired Toad Sage, living here with his hidden spells, weapons and legacy that would be passed onto someone worthy. And keeping in touch with the outside world as often as he could spare. Surrounded by mementos of Tsunade who had been more witch than him, even specialized in healing the sick and dying, though she didn't have the power to completely prevent death. Unlike the one who murdered her, ambitious enough to seek that forbidden gift...

The village wasn't touched by warfare; much of the fighting took place outside the boundaries, so everything was perfect as a painting. The flowers were of the season, beginning with gladioli: pastels consisting of lavender-blue, pink and white; passionate arrays of dark red, sunlit yellow and even refreshing green. Present were blue irises around the bodies of water, and even spectacular rose-like blooms called ranunculus in bold, paint-like colors from yellow to white, dark pink and red. Finally, just outside the windows suspended bleeding hearts to represent the good and the bad.

He loved Konoha with his heart that he contributed with his friends and loved ones to keep it safe from enemies - only for one of them to become the newest and greatest. When he heard Orochimaru had even gotten strong enough to kill two leaders of two rival nations, the sheer macabre detail was too nightmarish to imagine. Not even could he tell it to his ward.

Today, on a cheerful and sunny day which illuminated the flora and forestry like gems, he dwelled once more on what the Serpent King was up to. Things had been quiet even after some of Konoha's finest were taken prisoner, which was a rarity for the enemy who often killed whoever came his way...after gaining the information he needed.

"Well, my friend," Jiraiya said bitterly to one of his last friends, Bunta the toad who rested in his tank and croaked in response, "all I can say is that I am done hunting him. Though I'm still prepared even now when he returns - no, IF. Because I know even without that damned cauldron, he's useless."

Even so, the feeling of something wrong would be present everywhere: in his bones, his brain and his heart, most of all. _And the _feafōku _know it, too, which is why they went into hiding from the world's eye. Their powers could be used for his wicked benefit. _

He frowned when he heard the familiar sound of bubbling water, which turned out to be - "Oh, Naruto! Damn it, boy, the pot is boiling over AGAIN!"

There the young man of seventeen was, the daylight radiating off his hair, when he stood by the window and gazing at nothing in particular, making the white-haired old man shake his head. _Daydreaming again. _

"Oh, Pervy Sage -" And there he was with the nickname for his antics towards young women when the opportunity came, which made the elder growl through his teeth only out of pure irritation. "- I was just thinking again..." He was walking towards the pot over the fire pit. "...that if the war is over soon, I'll NEVER have a chance to fight."

There he was going again with his ambitions to become a great warrior like his father, Minato, had been. That was precisely why he was protecting his former protégé's son: both Minato and his wife Kushina were killed when their only child was barely old enough to walk. "It'd be a good thing, too. Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you? War isn't a game," Jiraiya said, standing up from behind the desk covered about with scrolls and Bunta's tank. He needed a good stretching of his bones and a cup of tea after the lad was done with the pot for the "special someone" outside.

"But I'm not afraid - OUCH!" Jiraiya chuckled; just like the little idiot to not pay attention once again as he was reaching for the handle of the pot without a cloth. Grimacing, Naruto tried again by picking the rag up to settle on opening the lid and revealing the mushed chow...for a _pig_.

"There you are right there. Imagine that if Orochimaru returns, you'd have more to worry about than just a burnt finger." Still sniggering especially at the boy's pout, Jiraiya helped him by holding up the bowl for the special creature outside. The smell made the lad flinch, and come to think of it, it used to do the same for Jiraiya. "Tonton will love this, as always."

Naruto snorted. "Tonton, Tonton...always about her out of the other animals." The old man sighed; ambition and impatience really kept you from seeing what was really in front of you. But then again, he was like that when he was the boy's age...and it also took his friend down the path.

He was picking up the hot pot by the handle, cloth covering it, and setting it down so he could get the tea kettle ready. "You're right, kid; it's always about her, but one day, you'll understand why. Now, no more dreaming. You have chores to do." He shooed the blond youth out of here, the latter muttering "yes, sir" before going out the cottage door which was a bamboo curtain.

Jiraiya never told his charge the truth behind Tsunade's favorite pig, because it was for the best. Anything could happen. Though, soon he would have to, because Naruto was at the age. Then he would see why he had to protect him, the son of his students, as well as the sow belonging to his dearest, rest her soul.

~o~

The old man with the plain maroon and fishnet garments, odd facial markings and big white hair was the only thing close to a family he had all his life. Raised him, taught him everything he knew, but he refused to even TEACH him anything advanced.

Count those times he saw the old pervert ogling young women _his _age or older when they were in town! He could just go his life without seeing some things, but those were also lessons he got besides the technicalities of man and woman coupling.

Naruto didn't hate the Pervy Toad Sage, because the man gave him everything he needed - a roof over his head, the best food they had - and even taught him everything he knew now...but the stories about his parents' deeds made him wish he could do something since Konoha was his home, too. Would he EVER be anything but an assistant pig keeper?!

"Sometimes, I feel like he doesn't understand me at all," he grumbled as he made his way out to the small house, which was outside the goat's keep but still attached. The smell of sow slop made his stomach lurch. "He treats me like a little boy, won't even teach me anything else besides basic swordsmanship, which is what he did when he was MY age, huh!" Angrily, he kicked at the dirt before him. _And so did my parents! Ma and Pa gave their lives for me, so I feel like I should honor them by following in their footsteps, not just for myself!_

He scoffed. "I should be doing just that: heroic deeds for Konoha, not weighting hand and foot on a spoiled little sow - HEY!"

He had just put the bowl of slop down and pushed it into the little house with his foot, only for it to be sent back out to him and nearly knock him off his feet. Some dust flew into the air, but not enough to hit his eyes. He just about cursed himself and sarcastically thought what a great thing he did in calling the hut's occupant spoiled. "Okay, Tonton, please don't be mad. I didn't really mean it." So, he didn't really mean it, that's right. He really did like the little pig, because if she meant that much to old man Jiraiya and his woman who was killed - _by that serpent Orochimaru, someone they once saw a friend _\- then he cared about her, too.

Finally, the pig's little head stuck out, looking up at him and giving a small smile of forgiveness, then down at the meal Jiraiya made specially for her and began to dig on in, but when Naruto watched, he couldn't help but feel a little...backlashed. He had a good life, but he always wanted more than this. More excitement, like Ma and Pa as well as Pervy Sage and Tsunade used to. Except the old man said nothing out there was a game: people died, they lost people they cared about, and vice versa. Lives were always taken without mercy, even for a good cause.

_But I'm _not _afraid. I swear I'm not; if I could ever meet that Orochimaru snake myself, I'd get him for taking Jiraiya's woman from him as well as others - including my parents!_

Grinning, Naruto had a great idea when he saw the long stick laying there a foot away from him. "Hey, look at me, Tonton! Naruto of Konoha - the greatest warrior of all! Ha!" He whirled down and pointed the stick at the poor pig who squealed in shock and retreated away from her half-finished meal, attempting to find refuge from him; oh, so she WAS afraid of him! Now, who was next...?

There were the white geese, and they did flee when he made way for them - but when they cleared, left behind was none other than the wise goat whom he decided to pretend was the Serpent King himself.

_Big mistake. _

Naruto eventually found himself being hit in the butt by the old goat's horns as revenge, and he slip-slid across the mud near Tonton's spot; this was enough to make the geese act up as if this was a comedy play for them. Partially, he agreed, but in haze of his fantasy he was acting out, he continued to play the part of "Konoha's finest warrior" now drawing his last breath, and he laid back, pretending to be dead - which earned the sweet little Tonton nudging her nose against his cheek.

Touched, Naruto opened his eyes and looked her over with a smile...until a shadow covered him. He bolted upright. "Pervy Sage!"

"Hm." _Uh oh, I'm gonna get it now. _"Not the best ending for a hero."

Damn it, he had to get out of this somehow. Naruto noticed how his tunic was so muddy he needed to wash it soon, but first came the little lady herself, and there came his excuse: he was playing with Tonton for a bit after she ate, and she got dirty. She looked up at him and oinked, proudly going along with him. She was such a good girl.

Jiraiya chuckled and reached down to scratch her head. "Well, then, you should get to work on cleaning her up and then yourself. Still more work to be done, kid."

A nice bubble bath was something Tonton loved, and he admitted he liked giving them to her out of everything else. The bucket was next to her small house, and he got the water from the nearby well, even the soap bars, and set to work on rubbing the smooth, firm skin and scrubbing the back which was how she liked it...

...but then it was over when she jerked up as if in fright. But he didn't sense anything and thought maybe she was just acting like this because -

"Tonton, stop that!" She started lashing out, squealing at something he couldn't see, and Naruto panicked because he didn't know what to do. He ended up toppling the bucket over and spilling soapy water all about the dry ground, getting them both dirty once again.

The antics got the attention of old man Jiraiya who threw open the window and shouted out, "Naruto! What's going on?!"

"I - I don't know! Something is wrong with Tonton!" She was still squealing even as he got her in his embrace. When the old man saw this, his face contorted in horror, raising his suspicions even when he was told to bring her inside at once.

_Why is it that I have no idea there is trouble? But then again, animals are smarter than humans, like Pervy Sage always says. _

~o~

It had been years since he used Tonton's sightseeing abilities, which had been one of the reasons Tsunade cherished her. Because Tonton's kind had the gift that was passed down through the ages. Thus his beloved's Senju family prized the seer sows of Konoha as they were reliable in seeing trouble coming their way...but that was also why enemies sought them out.

Hence Tonton was one of the last of her kind, and that was why she had been hidden all this time. Her abilities hadn't even been for Naruto's exclusive eyes...but now he would finally know. The time had come sooner than anticipated. For that, Jiraiya was anxious more than he could remember.

The windows had to all be locked, every nook and cranny blocked as chances could NOT be taken. All sound and spying eyes had to be shut out. When all was said and done, he took out a few candles to light up if keeping much of the cottage dark.

Candles, Bunta's only witnessing beady eyes - all was ready, and that left a wooden bowl he filled with purified water. _Pure as Tonton._

"What...is all of this for?" Naruto asked, scrutinizing as he set down the pig who had calmed as she knew what was going to happen but could not tell him. Jiraiya held up a hand, telling the boy to wait a moment, before finally answering him.

"This is the reason Tonton is extremely special, and why you and I have guarded her all these years. No one else knows of this besides her existence, as she appears to be an ordinary sow. Which is why I never use her...powers unless I absolutely have to." He reached down and rubbed the pig's head gently, and she oinked softly.

Naruto opened his mouth to ask another question, but he never got to because of the warning to NEVER reveal what he was about to see to _anyone._ With that, the Toad Sage raised a finger and then dipped it into the bowl of water to swirl a whirlpool, chanting the rite.

_"Tonton, from you I do beseech: knowledge that lies beyond my grasp. Pray now that troubled thoughts part ways."_

As anticipated, Tonton's mind appeared to spin as her eyes followed every movement of his finger; when he withdrew it, her snout and mouth dropped to touch the surface of the pristine fluids.

At the same time, the candle flames dimmed and the air became denser as the pig's magic began to work.

Her eyes had turned to dark pink with lighter tones towards the core. But it was the water that attracted the entirety of attention from him, the softly croaking toad and his baffled ward who became intrigued as the secret was exposed...and he would see why Tonton had been worked up.

First, the water swirled dark blue with the pink that removed itself from its user, mingling with the forces that answered any questions which were not asked...

...and there formed a malevolent figure in light blue which had the body of a serpent but the head of a man. Jiraiya hissed as he knew WHO this was, clenching his fists on either side as he knelt on the opposite of this bowl, across from the entranced pig and Naruto whose jaw had slackened.

"Orochimaru...he's _searching_..."

The colors majestically became darker and more dangerous, as did the characters which shifted: black being those murderous serpentine dragons he sent out, amidst an inferno of red and gold...ultimately becoming what it was his friend turned adversary and greatest enemy of Konoha was seeking. _Black amid bloody red, like that on the battlefields we once fought on..._

Damn it all, it was what he feared and expected all this time. "The _Dragon Cauldron _\- so, THAT is what he desires!"

Unfortunately, what came next was what made him brusquely halt the séance, and poor Tonton jerked backwards, clearly frightened as much as he was. _Now I know!_

Amid a canvas of green was a vibrant, sweet image of pink that Naruto pointed out and prompted all of this to end: it was _Tonton_...and it meant Orochimaru _knew_ of her existence. He cursed under his breath; he had done a fine job keeping her safe next to Minato's son, but it wasn't meant to be forever.

"P-Pervy Sage, what exactly is going on?!" Naruto demanded, standing up and wincing as he forgot to stretch his legs beforehand. "What is this 'Dragon Cauldron' and why is Orochimaru after it - and why would he want Tonton?"

Jiraiya growled through his teeth as he set about preparing the travel pack, as he could think of one thing to do for now until he had everything figured out, rather than letting them both remain here a minute longer. There was one place the Serpent King didn't know about, and he kept the tabs on even today. This cottage and its recorded acres were all protected with a barrier that hid them from unwanted company, but it would not work against Orochimaru and his followers - those vile beasts at his disposal.

_But the one _out there_ will have even more powerful magic to keep them safe than here. _

"You must leave here at once, Naruto. Take Tonton with you to the cottage at the edge of the...Forest of Death." He had everything necessary for the travel, but the mentioned safehouse would have a greater, preserved stock ready. Naruto would have bread, a couple apples - one for him, the other the pig - along with several vegetables freshly plucked from the garden that morning. Finished with a flask of water to soon be taken from the well.

And as to the location of the protective cottage. The Forest of Death had its name for reasons: gigantic and often lethal flora along with monstrous beasts of any sort - tigers, bears and even _leeches_. Jiraiya cringed. Hell, when he was younger than Naruto was now, he faced a giant wild snake with Orochimaru and Tsunade, the latter who cured them both of the poison that got into their systems. Orochimaru eventually developed an unnatural immunity to these things more than they did.

When Naruto learned of the place, he was flabbergasted as he'd been warned all his life to NEVER venture there, but now he was old enough and responsible - to an extent. Which was why the Toad Sage was giving them protective charms to wear; they worked for good periods of time, but in order for their power to not drain too quickly, he instructed the boy to remove them periodically to recharge. The trip was a couple hours away from here.

"But _why_? You didn't answer my question."

"You impatient idiot. That thing is the reason my friend is the way he is now." Time was short, but he was going to say what he could. "The Dragon Cauldron is a weapon of great power you can't comprehend. For ages before and after you were born, it's been hidden. Orochimaru created it so that he wouldn't ever have to worry about dying like those he couldn't save, even had to trade the life of the woman he loved for this bloody magic...and killed Tsunade and your parents for trying to stop him."

The revelation of the truth stunned the young man, and for a moment, he couldn't speak.

"You're saying...not only did my parents die because of him - and Tsunade - but he _murdered _his own LOVER?!" Then his eyes narrowed as the bleeding hatred intensified. "That bastard...if I ever see him, he's gonna pay."

And that was what made him such a fool, even so now that feelings of revenge were coming. "Don't think you'll stand a chance the way you are now, Naruto. Because if he finds the cauldron by using _Tonton, _nothing and _no one_ -" He took the younger one by the shoulders, shaking him firmly but not harshly. "- will stand against him if he unleashes its power."

"But I'm still not afraid of him, now with what you told me."

He sighed. As ever, there was no getting through to this stubborn head which belonged to his mother. "Untried courage won't be a match for the Serpent King's evil." He settled on handing the food pack for the other to wrap around his shoulder and place on his back.

"I only know of Tonton's power besides Tsunade and your parents, and so did Orochimaru. That is why you have to keep her safe now, away from here. There is no telling what may come..."

_And so much to now rest on your shoulders, my boy. _

**So, even though there are elements of Naruto canon as well as Japanese culture, this is purely fantasy in terms of the original material as well as aspects of D and D. :)**

**Sayuri (Orochimaru's mentioned lover he sacrificed for the cauldron to work in the beginning) is an OC I planned a long time ago to pair with him, except so far I haven't gotten a good story to develop and make work, but she's FAR from a Mary Sue. I thought it was now a good chance to place her in here and also sit to see where the future goes. **

_**Feafōku**_**means "fair folk". More about that later. **

**Original chant: "****From you I do beseech: knowledge that lies beyond my reach. Troubled thoughts beyond your heart, pray you now those thoughts in part."**

**Reviews appreciated, much love! **


	2. Sly Fox and Ferocious Beasts

**There anybody who wasn't afraid of the Horned King in childhood? (cold chills, dabs forehead sweat) My God he had me frozen with FEAR the first time I saw him, if the trailer never did the trick...**

**Thank you, the few who favorited and followed, but sadly only one review. :(**

Chapter Two

Sly Fox and Ferocious Beasts

Why anyone would want to live in such a despairing, bleak landscape was beyond the ordinary man or woman. To him, it was a necessity...until he took the greater prize in his hands.

Death lurked in every corner of Oto, from the dried up trees to the rocks and the waters at the bottom of the mountain which the old temple rested atop - and the only thing connecting the peak to the other side of the main land was the stoned but narrow drawbridge.

The only guardians to watch over this desolate kingdom were the twin serpent-like dragons which constantly flew the air, eyeing for intruders as well as waiting for their master's command.

_And now they will fly on this day for that which I seek..._

In one of the lowest points of this old palace - peeling apart from lack of care and dim without any sign of vibrancy and joy, guarded with skull-faces and crawling with snakes carved into ancient stone - was a lone figure clad in rags which were torn to show pale sinew due to lack of nourishment. Long, black hair was sleek as a waterfall and touched the middle of the back. The figure touched bare, bony feet step by step downwards to the bottom of the dungeons until they reached the destination...

...and there lay skeletal soldiers that once served its new main occupant. Many of them dead Oto warriors, and a handful once being Konoha soldiers who were executed once he found they didn't have what he needed.

And when he had the cauldron once again, he would resurrect his armies and set them across not only his former homeland, but the ENTIRE world...and he would be a god amongst men for certain.

But first, he had to seek out the one creature that he needed most, when the secondary plan would fail to work in his favor. There was one purpose _she _would serve in the end, but torture had not gotten her resolve to break, and thus there was the greatest option left - which was why he sent his vicious dragons out for the search.

He never wanted to kill HER - the one he once called a friend - but he had to because she was in his way. If she wasn't with him, she was his enemy...and so was Jiraiya.

Sometimes, he thought he made a mistake to kill Tsunade, before he recalled the fact she had another source of power that would help him find what had been taken and hidden from him so cleverly that not even his own eyes could find:

_Her oracular pig._

So far, years of hunting that little sow were of no avail, so a second plan had previously been in order: someone with eyes far better than even his own, as he proudly admitted to only himself.

Demonic yellow eyes of a serpent glowed with perverse delight as they beheld the small sea beyond his feet at the bottom of the stairs. A long tongue slithered out to lick narrow, cold lips.

_Ohhh, yessss...my soldiers. _

There lay nothing but bones and armor - a macabre scene which would have given the lesser man sleepless nights and plenty to drink off in order to relax himself. With these dead men and women...s_oon, the Dragon Cauldron will be mine. Its delicious, forbidden power will course through my veins, and I shall make every single one of you cauldron-born. _

And once he became the dragon, there would be no one to stop him. All would have no choice but to worship HIM - a god over these short-lived, pitiful and fragile humans.

There was nothing and no one left in his heart - not even love - except for power. Everything to make up for what had been taken from him.

The creation of the cauldron and his status as the Serpent King demanded the sacrifice of a loved one. His heart had to be closed off to all things except his goals, so there was no point in remembering and feeling what could have been.

~o~

He had never thought the old man would keep something like THIS from him in his wildest dreams. But at the same time, he wasn't surprised much anymore because of the stories he heard about Orochimaru - the man who killed his parents, Tsunade, many others...and a woman he loved who went by the name of Sayuri. _Someone sweet and fair as a lily but hard at the core like many women are. She, too, didn't see what kind of man he was turning into until it was too late._

All his life, this magic in the family had been kept from him, but now he understood why - except that made him want to fight Orochimaru if he ever saw him. Never mind the zero advanced training he got besides the basics for petty fights that seldom happened in Konoha these days.

But thinking about the other brave men and women who went out there and either died or were taken prisoner, never coming back to their friends and loved ones...

Now he was out and on his own for the very first time. Away from Jiraiya and with Tonton on a leash, wearing the same charm of protection as he was around the neck. Take it off once in a while so it didn't completely drain of its power, the old man said.

"Well, looks like we are on our own until he joins us, big girl," Naruto grumbled as soon as they were away from Konoha's borders and heading right to the place Pervy Sage instructed them to go:

_The Forest of Death. _

He did NOT have a good feeling about this, because of the stories he heard since he was a child. Sometimes he got tempted to go there anyways, but then Jiraiya told him of the time he, Tsunade and the snake once got attacked by that giant serpent. That was enough to make him stay safely within his comfort zone.

_"I won't fail you, Pervy Sage."_

That was what he said before he and the girl were off on their long walk. He hoped he could live up to those words. But now, after what felt like forever and them finding themselves in a bright, flowery part of the forest - he could never get enough of these wild roses with their shades of buttery yellow, flame-red, and bright orange, all of which made him think of his parents and himself - he had to say what had been on his mind since they left home.

"Tonton, I'm still shocked you can read visions and things like that; I thought you were just an ordinary pig all this time!"

She oinked and happily twitched her nose before going about her business. This made Naruto smile; she had been in his care because Jiraiya trusted him, so he had no choice but to CHOOSE to keep her with him at all times. Therefore, the pig could not go wandering about on her own.

They knelt beside the small pond and stream they paused by, and nearby was the beginning point of the dreaded Forest of Death. It was here that they would freshen up and replenish, and a good time to remove the charms Pervy Sage gave them, but before he did, he had to warn Tonton to NOT leave his side.

Pink water lilies drifted across the glassy dark surface of the pond, and he was amazed at how pure and pristine this spot was. And it tasted just like the water from the well!

But it was also then that he was once again fantasizing himself as the warrior his late father had been. Never mind what the old sage said: _"War isn't a game."_

What was the use in protecting something and someone most precious if you couldn't _fight_?! That was why he had his gifted weapons on his belt, even if they weren't up to wartime standards.

Think about it: Naruto of Konoha - the true hero like his parents before him.

One more thing remained, and that was his pig Tonton. He could just see her being his familiar and little sidekick, so he found himself giving her credit to the imaginary audience...but then the good moment was ruined when he looked down to where she had once been.

Damn it all, Tonton was _gone!_

"Oh, no!" Naruto jumped up, picking up the charms and placing his own around his neck, putting the missing sow's in his pocket until he found her again. Why did this HAVE to happen?! Jiraiya had trusted him, and he let it come to this! _Oh, not if I can find her and swear off my dreaming until we get to the safe place. Then I can sink into my fantasies all I want. _

Putting his hand on the weapons belt made him feel stronger and more confident that he could find Tonton safely and attack any wild savage that came his way - or their way.

Yet as soon as he ventured into this part of the forest - these gnarly and out of shape trees which extended outwards and towards you in an attempt to grab onto you, and some great trunks resembling _ghoulish faces_ forever silently crying out in despair - he felt the invisible insects crawl up his spine. The darker this place became, the redder the skies became, and the worse the strange noises got which belonged to whatever lived in this place of nightmares...

He called out Tonton's name, only getting echoes and more weird noises. As time passed and the deeper he went, the tingles became chills that threatened to turn him into an ice statue, and he could feel it in his damned legs, too, as his steps slowly faltered - no, why was he scared? If he wanted to be a brave warrior, he had to _act _like one!

Something else reached his ears: something like a different form of an _oink_, prompting him to duck behind a tree before cursing to himself. What was he, the idiot old man Jiraiya occasionally called him for the littlest things? No way he was going to let this place get to him.

"Tonton?" It had to be her, and she was playing with him, so he decided to try another tactic to get her to come out of wherever she was - in the bushes which exposed darkness and could hide just about _anything _\- and that was reaching into his pack to take out one of the fresh, juicy red apples. "Tonton, maybe you need something. There's nothing to be scared of if you have this nice, sweet -"

He was interrupted when a voice pierced the air that an animal, much less a _pig_, could not make...because it could have been spoken by a _human. _It was low but booming.

"Just leave the apple there and go away, human."

Naruto bristled, pulling his hand back before stepping away when he whirled around and saw the _red eyes_ peering out at him from a great, dark hole in the tree behind his right rather than in front of him. He controlled himself from screaming like a girl at the sight. "What the - what the hell? I never said this was YOURS!"

Those eyes blinked. "I haven't eaten in _days_," the creature growled. "I could use some of that if fresh meat is difficult to come by in these parts."

_This monster...oh, I'm in for it now. He said fresh meat...wait._

The thing said meat was hard to come by, but it never said anything about eating HIM. "Well, what if I gave you something else?" Naruto shrugged off his pack and set it on the ground, kneeling to open it and find some greens and the carrots from the garden. "You like greens and bread?"

"Human, if you don't give me the damned apple, I'll EAT you myself! You've trespassed on my territory to warrant that enough."

That was enough to warrant a screech or so, and he quickly stood up and dropped the apple, watching with a cold sweat as it rolled towards the old tree, and those malicious red eyes followed the fruit's every move before the being they belonged to leaped out of its hiding place...and Naruto couldn't _believe_ what the hell he was seeing. What scared him when _he _turned out to be bigger than that thing!

_A fox...I'll be damned! A little talking FOX scared me with a threat to eat me. Foxes don't do major harm to humans. _"You little greedy thing, you should be ashamed," Naruto growled, hands on his hips as he watched the little beast munch on the luscious red fruit that was supposed to be for Tonton whom he still had to look for, but then he considered asking this rude critter if he'd seen her pass by. "That was supposed to be saved for my pig I'm looking for. And here you are talking to me the way you do when _I'm _the bigger one than you!"

The red fox, which seemed to be twice Tonton's size, glared up at him as it licked its lips of the clear juices. "Look, human brat," it growled back, "you come on my grounds looking for what - a _pig?_ That makes two in a moment when I prefer my solitude - now LEAVE."

That was enough to cause Naruto's train of thought to go in another direction: _he's...all alone. He said there's hardly any meat for him, which means he is starving. _"You mean you have...no family, either?" he asked, suddenly feeling bad for the little grouch.

"That's right. They were all killed by hunters who chased me to this forest where I hid out and hunted for survival. But it's not like there's anything here not toxic."

So, in a way, he was an orphan...just like the human was. But that was no excuse to treat people the way he did. "Well, we can waste another minute talking about loneliness and starvation, but you said you saw my pig?" Naruto asked, changing to excitement altogether.

The fox grunted. "I did. A round, fat pink thing sniffing about before running off squealing when I told her to get out before I ate her. I have no interest in farm property like her. Not like she'd last two or three days for me to eat before she rotted all the way."

That warranted a grimace which made his face feel like it would freeze if he kept it in place. "Tonton is tougher than you can ever imagine; she might not let some mangy carnivore get to her before I will." Except somehow, he doubted his own words, each minute that passed and she got farther away from him. "Makes me regret asking you in the first place...but thanks." He started off in the direction the fox told him, which was to his northeast - and heading into a redder part - but then stopped. The little guy was such a lonely grump, but the least he could do was thank him.

"Well, thanks a lot and enjoy that apple if you don't need anything else. But what's your name? I'm Naruto." He forced a cracked grin which made the animal raise his brow.

"My name? It's Kurama."

It was at this moment they both heard the sound that made him leap into action, but Kurama the fox grunted and said he wanted no part in being attacked by whatever the hell it was out there...

_Tonton - she's in trouble!_

Her distant squealing led him to the clearing he reached, after jumping over one gnarled tree root after the other, and what he saw made him freeze momentarily in horror.

Out there in opened dead country - not one sign of life - was the pig herself, running about in a circle while being chased overhead by _two serpentine dragons _who roared at their prey below. So far enough that Naruto wasn't sure if he would be able to reach her, but he wasted no time taking off running for her at the same time one of those giant beasts was coming down towards her.

These had to be _Orochimaru's _dragons; he just knew it. Those things with their bony wings and deadly claws that could either kill you at will as soon as you were in their grasp...but their intent was to catch the seer pig of Tsunade Senju and bring her back to their master.

"NOOOO!"

Naruto was NOT going to let it happen, just like he promised old man Jiraiya, and he wasn't going to let failure defeat him if he was willing to go this far at the cost of his own life.

A few tries and misses resulted in the earth being dragged along, rocks and debris in the air, and he managed to reach Tonton...before one of the flying demons got to her and wrapped its talons around her fragile, plump body, forcing her squealing self out of his hands - only for Naruto to manage regaining himself and dragging on the spiked tail. If he would go to Oto with her, then gladly he would and find a way to get them both out.

Except the other thing he forgot about wasn't going to let that happen, for it grabbed onto him, miraculously not cutting into his body but throwing him down. Grimacing in numbing pain, Naruto forced himself together, ignoring his bleeding lip and getting up to run after the pair which took off flying in the northern direction.

_NO, please come back!_

He rushed through the forest, enduring thorny bushes and trees as well as jagged mountains - until he finally found a way to climb up the wall he reached, nearly sliding off a couple times but ultimately reached the top.

There was the land of Oto beyond, with the malicious temple and the great drawbridge over a murky lake. Lightning flashed in the red-purple sky, followed by thunder cracking.

And there were the fading silhouettes of those dragons, accompanied by the vanishing squeals of protest.

"Tonton..." Her name was a harsh breath. He clenched his fists. "...I must get to you."

"...going in there will be a fool's decision, Naruto."

He spun around and glared down at the source of the voice that didn't startle him at all, but he wasn't happy, either. "What do you care, Kurama?" he spat back. "You think I'm a coward like YOU?"

Kurama bared his teeth in a snarl, tail flicking side to side. "I resent being called that. I did try to keep away, but now I found that I can't, much to my dismay." The human was taken aback at once; was the little beast admitting he didn't want to stand back anymore or something? "But it doesn't mean I'll actively take part in this. I just came here to help you with a warning: no one a part of the Serpent King's domain ever gets out once they go in."

_No one gets out alive..._

"I've heard that whole story before," Naruto admitted. "We had soldiers of our village being taken here -" _Maybe some are still prisoners, or dead. _"- and now Tonton. I promised Pervy Sage I'd keep her safe. She belonged to someone he loved who was killed by that snake...and he also took my parents when I was still an infant." This seemed to spark a mild reaction of shock in Kurama, seen in the red eyes only.

Another crack of lightning and thunder momentarily startled Naruto, but it didn't stop him. He was going in whether it was against his better judgment or not - but his better judgment was his goal.

And with or without this little fox who still wouldn't go with him. But before he left for the bridge that was still miles ahead and starting at the bottom of this small mountain, he opened his pack and decided to give Kurama the other thing in case something happened to him. _The least I can do is give him more food, but this is all. _

The presentation seemed to sadden Kurama, but there were no words spoken from the guy. Not that Naruto expected it, though he wished that they weren't such adversaries like this.

Behind him, Kurama bowed his head and miserably picked up the last apple. This was the first time he knew a human who gave him something for free without hunting him down and taking what was rightfully his. Nor did he ever know someone as noble as Naruto.


	3. The Dark Temple and Its Residents

**A D and D influence to this story also happens to be a hilarious movie called "Dudes and Dragons", which is a comedic take on "Dungeons and Dragons". XD It's found somewhere online, so take a look if anyone is interested. Been a while since I've seen it myself. **

Chapter Three

The Dark Temple and Its Residents

That bridge was no trouble, but getting in was something else.

That meant he had to either find a window or at least make a hole in the wall to slip in like a foreign bug, or a rat. It was a hell of an adventure to be in a strange, frightening place which you heard about from another's mouth, and that was why he was a little scared. _Which is how it is for many who aren't used to something like this. _

Still, Naruto wasn't letting his fear get the best of him. Tonton needed him more than ever, so he tried not to think about WHAT was happening to her at this moment...

Why didn't he use any of his _tools_? Maybe it was desperation to free her that he didn't think of anything else, and if that was the case, he swore to _never_ make that mistake again. He would have to work on clearing his head so that he could come up with better ideas.

That included once he was inside and hiding to prevent being seen by whoever served the Serpent King. He'd have to improvise in case what he had didn't work on them. After all, they were trained soldiers instead of petty thieves who acted on impulse.

Muscles strained as he dug his toes into every crack there was, his fingers latching onto each taut, crawling vine as well as threatening to fall off and into the water which was at least seven decades of feet below - _and could KILL me! _\- and not a safe fall if he went the wrong way or something...or if not that, then something worse could be waiting to eat him alive before he rescued the seer pig.

Finally did Naruto find success: thorny branches pierced a wall and granted him access to making a hole to crawl through...

...and into an abandoned hallway where he could roam freely, but he was not going to take any chances.

This area was gloomy but lit with torches. Plaster fell off, wooden beams were so tattered they might break any second and land on top of either just your head or your entire body. He didn't know which would be worse, and he wouldn't find out. Wrapping his arms around himself, shivering, Naruto looked around and caught sight of snake statues, which made him scowl at the obvious.

_You really like yourself a little TOO much, Orochimaru - even if you don't have life-sized statues of yourself. _

There were plenty of corners to turn, alcoves to duck into and even barrels to hide behind, but one slip-up meant he was done for. And thank the gods he heard the _snoring_; otherwise, he would have been caught red-handed.

Except the sound startled him out of his wits that he jumped behind a moldy corner, holding his breath as he peeked around - and saw it was none other than a _guard_ over there, laying facedown on an old, wooden table covered with a tilted wine barrel as well as a goblet, which told him the unkempt idiot had drunken himself to sleep, but he wasn't going to bet on that, either, and tiptoed across the entrance to duck behind a small closeted area -

\- but he should have counted on the mangy dog that barked savagely out of nowhere, causing his heart to leap against his sternum. _Damn it, beast, you almost gave me a heart attack!_ Naruto shrank further into the corner as he heard the footsteps behind the animal which was then yanked backwards by the chain attached to its collar, telling him the creature belonged to that guard who was no longer passed out. Which also meant he hadn't been drunk, after all.

"Shut up, idiot," the man growled at the scraggly gray wolf. "Always barking at nothing. Come on; it's time for the rounds."

And that was the first guard Naruto had seen; there was no telling how many more were around if he didn't hurry up. He slipped out and rushed into another hallway, jumping behind more "good" spots...before he heard a commotion which distracted him from his duck-and-hide routine.

It was coming from a small door which reached his waist, and it served as an eavesdrop on the debauchery which was going on down there. Naruto held his breath as he slipped through there, needing to see if the Serpent King himself was down there - or Tonton - but it turned out to be one of those things Pervy Sage always talked about in his good old days.

One man was juggling and causing an audience of guffaws. Others were simply bellowing while drinking themselves and their bodies away.

And there were also two main attractions in different sizes: one was an overtly curvaceous woman that not even old man Jiraiya would waste his time having a second look at, long dark hair in thick curls bouncing along with her body which was covered with a royal purple kaftan lavishly embroidered with gold medallions and scrollwork. The other woman, however, was slimmer and caught the most attention - _someone Pervy Sage will definitely spend all his time drooling for _\- while flaunting herself in a sheer black garment which was opened to reveal a bosom covered with gold beads.

Only the dancing wenches weren't what also grabbed Naruto's attention: the young man down there was getting slapped around, forced to dance with drunken soldiers, and going about to serve. He had to be a servant boy who couldn't be much older than he was. He had silvery hair which was messy despite being tied behind his head.

Part of Naruto felt bad for him even if he didn't know where this one's loyalties lay.

His eyes were diverted once again, and this time was when a nasty guy finished a meat bone before tossing it away - only for it to be ensnared by the _two dragons_ who took Tonton, now chained together to a post which was something domestic birds would sit upon. Savagely did they compete for the large bone with small bits of meat.

"Keep your hands off, bitch!"

"Going somewhere?"

Those insults he heard even from where he was were directed for the silver-haired young man who had tried to help himself to a large piece of sliced meat on the table, only to be tripped upon when he was about to leave with what he got. The dish landed atop the youth's head, which didn't seem to hurt his brain but mostly his pride. Naruto gritted his teeth at this treatment; while growing up, he heard stories of servants being mistreated compared to those above them. He hated how people like this one - including others like him, Jiraiya and their fellow villagers - could endure stuff like this while rich people or soldiers got away with it.

A howling of wind got everyone's attention, including Naruto. All activity stopped at once: the dancing girls never got to embrace their own man who were groveling for some action. The dragons ended their battle over the bone. The men ceased drinking at the same time the candles were blown out.

The tapestries above their heads - one with the Oto crest, which was a skull face embraced by two coiling snakes - were swaying slightly, only this didn't feel like an ordinary wind.

The darkness before all was soon filled with light that was too demonic to just be an entertainment. And the sensations sent the worst chills up your spine, causing your heart to stop only to blow up when the flashes of purple and fire swirled like a tornado, the explosions of amber and red making Naruto reel back and try not to fall down below.

The light was intruded by a human-like shape surrounded with smoke, shrouded in black and eventually becoming a clearer image which struck such terror in the fighters who remained where they sat. When the mist cleared, you saw what this malevolent presence looked like - and WHO it was: long black hair, the features of a snake in the narrow, almost non-existent nose and thin lips, the skin so white it was almost like the clouds, and the golden, narrow eyes belonging to a real serpent. He was garbed in neutral tones so old they tore in a few places.

_Orochimaru...the Serpent King. _

The terror in Naruto made him second-guess everything he thought this creep was, even recalling everything the old man said of his friend turned enemy. This was the man who killed his own lover, Tsunade, and Naruto's parents.

It made Naruto loathe him all the more.

The bullied young man stumbled to his feet, kneeling before the towering figure who regarded him with a cold eye and a smirk that spoke volumes of glee. "Y-Your Majesty, welcome."

The voice was a hiss that also rustled like velvet, drawing you into a false sense of security. You know, charm you before swallowing you whole. "Kabuto. I felt bored waiting in my chambers for the fun to be over, so I come here now." He gracefully glided over and sat at the empty throne Naruto was now seeing, after glimpsing all. The man seated himself in without a grunt of strain or a wince. As if nothing bothered him anymore, except when someone refused to give him what he desired.

"Celebrating the success - MY success, that is." He licked his lips as he switched his eye to Kabuto who went about getting him his goblet of wine, but waved it off. "A drink won't suffice as much as the real reason we are here tonight." Even though he didn't speak directly to all his men who "respectfully" gave their attention to their king, they knew what he was talking about.

"Oh, yes, sire. Bring in the prisoner!" Kabuto shouted over his shoulder, and from the northeast, rickety doorway came a snarling beast of a man who tugged a chain behind him to do as he was ordered...and Naruto's heart fell.

_Oh, no._

There was poor little Tonton with a shackle around her neck, treated like a threat instead of a living creature with feelings.

"The pig who sees visions," Orochimaru noted proudly. "The one which belonged to one who died by my hand in the last war." He raised his hand and motioned for a bowl of red wine - no damned water! - to be placed before Tonton who had been released from her chain, only for her job she was here for. _You mean "slave work"? _He spoke to Tonton directly now, sickly sweet.

"Well, go on, dear little one; show me where the Dragon Cauldron can be found."

Of course, she refused, stepping back and turning her head away in the semblance of a pout which seemed to set Kabuto off, and mildly irritated his master. "Now, we don't need insubordination, do we? My patience will wear thin any moment now. Kabuto?"

Naruto's chain reaction went off at that scared little creep doing what his king told him to do in order to get the pig to show them the location of what he spent many years searching for. "You're going to show us, swine, even if I have to stick you with _this_."

The hot poker with the attached coal - taken from the nearest burning bonfire - made Naruto stand up from his hiding place and shout, instinct overtaking common sense. Narrowly, he missed the torn old flag and ripped it farther apart when he tried to grab onto it, eventually landing on his haunches and thankfully not breaking a bone.

He was surrounded in no time by six men with swords, axes and clubs, and the best weapon he could find was a broomstick behind him...only for that to get hacked off by a sword, and he was grabbed by the one who did the job - and he was a bulbous young man who clearly didn't take care of himself. He grasped Naruto's tunic and shirt collar, lifting him off the ground so that his toes couldn't even touch the foor.

Naruto kicked the air and resisted spitting out, since that would only bring more trouble. _Damn broom was a stupid idea, and my own knives never would have made it through, either. _

"Jirobo," Orochimaru called, "put the boy down. He's not worth killing. Clearly he is the pig's keeper; otherwise, he would not be here."

The big guy called Jirobo looked surprised, and bitterly did he oblige, throwing Naruto away; he slid across the floor in the direction of the pig, harrowly missing the bowl of wine. He recovered, lifting his head and shaking it to get the dust and whatever was in it out of his face, before making eye contact with the one he risked his life to rescue.

"Tonton, you're safe!" He took her into his embrace, and she happily licked at his face, but the reunion was short-lived.

"My boy, I presume you _are_ this oracular pig's keeper. Entrusted by none other than my dear old friend...Jiraiya."

The old man's words returned to haunt him, as much as this monster's voice: _"If Orochimaru returns, you'd have more to worry about than just a burnt finger."_

Now he was scared to be in this one's presence, poor Tonton faring no better. _I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, Pervy Sage. And I always wanted to make this man pay for everything he did, but what am I really? An assistant pig keeper with no real skills. _"Yes...sir," he forced himself to say, glad he didn't stutter like a scared little boy."

That pale, skeletal hand gestured for his goblet of wine now, taking it in hand when that chicken Kabuto hurriedly gave it to his master. "Then, instruct her to show me the whereabouts...of the Dragon Cauldron." He then narrowed golden eyes. "Oh, wait, I believe now that I look closer at you, you remind me of someone from a long time ago. Jiraiya entrusts you with Tsunade's pig, but your face...would you happen to be Minato and Kushina's child?" Orochimaru asking of his parents so casually made him angry again; he had no choice but to hold it in again.

"...yes."

"As I thought. It's an honor to meet their son for the first time. You do resemble your father, though I also see your mother. They fought well in their last moments." _Why, you -!_ "But enough of that. The pig, boy."

Indignantly, Naruto lifted his head and his nose upwards. "I promised Pervy Sage I'd never betray him, Tsunade and my parents...or Sayuri."

Big mistake to say her name, it turned out. For the snake man's face twisted at the mention, and it caused his men to murmur amongst themselves. They fell silent at his venomous death glare which returned its direction to Naruto. "Very well. In that case, the pig is no use to me." And that was when his stronger-than-they-looked fingers closed around the goblet, shattering it and spilling the red liquid to resemble blood...and the cue for Kabuto to move and snatch Tonton, at the same time Naruto found himself held back by another large soldier.

"NO, YOU CAN'T!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as she was forced onto the _chopping block_, which was still covered with dried blood from whoever lost their head before her. She squealed and tried to pull back with futile efforts. "_STOP!"_

The axe, held by the black masked executioner, halted when its king commanded him to wait, clearly seeing he'd broken the young man who bowed his head, regretfully, and had no choice but to go through with this in order to save Tonton.

"I'll make her tell you. Just don't kill her!" Naruto croaked, then was thrust forward as the pig was, and both nearly knocked the bowl over.

Was it his imagination, or was his body moving on its own in response to the extreme guilt trip - which would have cost Tonton her life either way? _He always would have killed her even if she did this willingly...and both of us will be dead eventually. _

But no - he still had to get them both out, if only to find the _how_.

Naruto did as Jiraiya had with swirling his finger in the fluid, which hypnotized the pig along with the words: _"Tonton, from you I do beseech: knowledge that lies beyond my grasp."_

Gold swirled about beneath her snout as it made contact with the red...and the center would give way to the black shape which was the cauldron itself - the soldiers were in awe as was the stricken Kabuto - and when the Serpent King saw this, he rose and made his way to Naruto who remained on his guard.

"The Dragon Cauldron - yes..._show me where it is!"_

Those golden eyes suddenly seemed to burn with ghastly red, and his snakelike fangs were exposed with a leer that made Naruto impulsively scream and knock into the bowl, interrupting the séance itself - and some of the burning liquids splashed onto Orochimaru's face, eliciting inhuman roars of pain.

The soldiers, for a moment, looked mortified as they had never seen their king like this, but there was no time to think about it. The opportunity had come as Naruto picked up Tonton and made way for the nearest cleared doorway out of this mess hall he could find.

Finally, they were going to escape!

**R and R! ;3**


	4. The Maiden, Soldier and Jeweled Sword

**Sorry I unintentionally delayed this chapter. I just got back to work on a long-hiatus Kim Possible fic which is the final in a series. :D High time it was concluded while I also worked on this tale. **

Chapter Four

The Maiden, Soldier and Jeweled Sword

The chase was something that was too scary to be real, but he had to learn the hard way that real life was scarier than the old stories.

The soldiers wasted no time in grabbing their weapons again to chase after keeper and pig together.

As the hunt began, the dragons themselves were screeching and breaking free from their chains, taking the broken wood with - and it got caught on something which made them stunted.

Eventually, after a good run and those soldiers stopped by those dragons being down, he and Tonton found themselves in the kitchen where the butcher was carving meat, and then Kabuto found them, calling him "pig boy" before falling into a barrel - after Naruto dodged him, and the thing carrying the poor idiot rolled towards the butcher who tried to get away.

Finally, they found themselves outside, but not through the hole which he had come through. They were on a balcony which ended up overlooking the moat which he had been afraid to fall into. They had been cornered against their will that the bridge was impossible now. This was their only chance.

The door had been locked by a pole he found, but it wouldn't last, and those men with blunt blades would eventually come through if they didn't hurry. The railing was too high for the both of them to leap over. To make it faster, Naruto had to push Tonton over, urging her to swim no matter how far a fall it was or how deep the waters were; it was a risk they had to take. _I had a feeling I would be taken in her place, and her safety comes first._

The guards broke through, as he feared, and just as he was getting over the stoned railing, he found himself dragged back over by Kabuto, and his weapons were taken from him...as well as Pervy Sage's protective charms which had actually been no match for Orochimaru and his minions, even if he remembered to take them off or not. Nevertheless, regret was once more swelling in Naruto for all of this happening.

But at least Tonton would get away.

Orochimaru the Serpent was the last to arrive. But he was far from pleased that the pig he needed to lead him to what he craved for most had escaped. However, for some reason, he didn't kill Kabuto and released him from his chokehold, before ordering "the boy" to be thrown into the dungeon.

Which was where Naruto was now.

He had been here throughout the night and now this morning, which had begun to creep into the cracks of the ceiling. He barely slept, and when he tried, he could imagine Jiraiya's disappointment in him. He could see the old man's face, echoing the words.

_"...you must make sure he NEVER uses Tonton to find the Dragon Cauldron."_

Well, he _did_ use Tonton, but there was no direct pinpoint on the location, so he supposed it wasn't a complete failure. But still, if he had kept an eye on her back at the pond, they wouldn't be in this mess...and he would be out there, making sure she was safe. He could only pray she would stay that way.

_Why didn't I get away with her? Why did I keep forgetting the charms? I should never have let them be taken, either, with my weapons...I'm the worst idiot in existence. "I won't fail you, Pervy Sage" - yeah, right._

If only there was a rock to pick up and throw across the room, little good that would do. All he could do was curse himself for his idiocy, thinking he could live up to his boasting about being a great warrior. He could imagine how his parents from the other side must be thinking of him now...

But then, in midst of his numbing misery, Naruto's ears were graced with a noise: a rocky tile being lifted from the ground..._someone is coming in, instead of through the door. _

And he was shocked at who entered - someone he never once expected in his wildest dreams.

~o~

Her father had warned her of the dangers out there, but because of her cousin's strength, she believed that no harm would come to her.

All she did was go out for some flowers and some food for everyone, which wasn't the first time, and she could take care of herself just fine, while Father and baby sister waited for her.

Only for her cousin to be killed by those damned beasts overhead - he was there to protect her, ended up dying for her - and one of them to snatch her in its talons before carrying her off to this wretched place...where the Serpent King needed her EYES to seek out the Dragon Cauldron. That made her blood curdle and her heart turn to ice. The sight of the man scared her, but she didn't give him the satisfaction. And it earned her a lock-up in the dungeon, but sometimes those idiots guarding her forgot on occasion, and they didn't know she had some tricks up her sleeve in case anything like this ever happened.

Which was when her hidden lock pick came into play. After all, the fair folk had their ways, and her family who watched over them learned enough tricks from them besides having their own ocular bloodline.

Now using it as soon as she was free, she set about to find something to defend herself and get out of here. That wicked Orochimaru never told her WHY she was here besides to "help" find the cauldron, but she wasn't going to doom the entire world at the cost of her life.

_What if my father doesn't send anyone to help me, and I have to just take care of myself now?_

If not, then that meant she could get killed trying to flee this hellish place. Only...what if she found a fellow prisoner she could join forces with? It was better than one, as Father always said.

She prowled the depths of Oto's temple, still in the same dress she wore when she was captured. She was a beautiful young girl in one-shouldered panels of light blue to white which was faintly sparkling but covered with grime; her lavender-tinted raven hair long and reaching her waist was accented with pristine blossoms in a circlet. One bared arm was swirling with silver around a glowing moonstone.

And finally, her eyes: pearlescent with the veins poking out on either side. This was her family power to help her see through everything, every life-form there was, and that was what helped her get out of her dungeon cell.

She saw every little detail, pierced through even the hardest and most ancient of stone and fragile wood, glimpsed every human and non-human shape...and above her head was the one she was looking for. The nearest she could find and hopefully help her get out of here.

It just so happened that there was a secret passageway she found to get into the person's cell. _Orochimaru took soldiers of Konoha hostage many times; perhaps this could be one..._

But when she pushed the stone tile up and out of her way, climbing through and peeping around, she was surprised that the person - a young man of around her own age - didn't look like a warrior or someone who could fend off the Serpent King's men. His sunlit hair was all over the place, his clothing burnt orange with a dark brown leather vest laced over...but his eyes took her breath away.

They were broad and blue as the skies she missed since being taken prisoner here. And they were a pleasant change from the way those Oto soldiers looked at her.

"Oh, you're not what I expected. You're a fellow prisoner, as I am."

The young man stood up, shocked that he'd also seen someone like her in these walls. "Y-yes!" His voice sounded like a squeak that it made her laugh and climb into the filthy dungeon which was no different than her own. She spat and dusted off her skirt and ankles.

"I hate this place; there are rats here, but it's not like I really mind them." _Because while they jump out, all they do is look for food and have no rights, like human prisoners. Like US. _"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Hinata." She extended her hand out to him, and he tentatively placed his into it.

She was surprised at how pleasantly warm his skin was despite this chilly environment. "Naruto."

"Naruto..." She was impressed with his name, as well as his appearance as a whole. These things were the first sign of a possible attraction, she'd been taught, but not as a whole. Admittedly, he was handsome if not in a complete masculine way. He looked more boyish than most males she'd met. And because of his clothes, there was no way he could be a warrior or something.

He lowered his eyes, as if ashamed when she asked what he was. "I'm an...assistant pig keeper."

_He's a pig keeper...but it doesn't explain why he's here. Clearly he doesn't have anything valuable Orochimaru needed from him - unless I'm wrong. _"Well, that doesn't matter to me now, because I was hoping someone could help me escape this place. I tried myself, and it isn't the same when you work with more people, though it's not like I can't do anything on my own," Hinata said with a little heated blush to her cheeks. She turned to walk towards the hole she'd made.

To her pleasant surprise, Naruto decided he would follow her, and she turned on the strain in the veins framing her eyes. She was going to show them the way out of here.

After all of this was over, could he be...?

~o~

He'd never been good around girls like Pervy Sage, but NEVER did he see one as beautiful as _this one_.

His mother had been beautiful, as had Tsunade, but both were gone when he was very young. Though Jiraiya described them both: Tsunade was a goddess with the largest chest most women didn't have that first got him in danger of receiving a vicious punch, complete with long golden hair and eyes fiery and hard as amber.

As for his mother, Kushina, she had the reddest hair which was the shade of tomatoes, and eyes the color of violets, but with a slimmer build. She was also fair-skinned, like Tsunade.

Both women had violent tempers when provoked, which struck fear into the hearts of many men - and also made them perfect balances for Minato and Jiraiya. _But this girl..._

Though he never knew the two women on his mind, he had to say this one was...shapely, as the old man often said about every pretty little thing that walked past them. Big and yet not too big, framed with long midnight hair highlighted with lavender. _And she's so nice; I don't remember a girl being like that with me. Even the first one I thought I liked struck me all because I said hello to her._ Her eyes reminded him of the moon, and it scared him a little when the veins stuck out somehow, telling him this girl couldn't be a normal human like him.

Her name was Hinata. He liked that name. And she asked him to get out of here with her; he was too happy to say yes, hopes on the rise again, but that meant they had to find a way to defend themselves against those bastards under both hands of the Serpent King - whom he decided that he couldn't fight with the way he was now.

The only chance lay within the Dragon Cauldron, now that he thought about it.

"That wicked Orochimaru - he kidnapped me from home, with those dragons of his," she was saying as they slipped down the hole she'd come through into his dungeon cell, and he did the honors of closing it behind them. "My father could have sent an army, but let's say even our powers are no longer a match for the snake's evil." Hinata huffed and tossed her hair back over a shoulder. "He thought I could be of service to that...Dragon Cauldron. He just kept me locked up in here and refused to tell me what I would have to do, but he would have my eyes lead the way. I was abducted a week ago, and I've been here since."

She was abducted, too, like Tonton. For the same reasons as his pig. "You, too? My pig was taken by him, and she can...tell the future." Jiraiya was explicit in never revealing the sow's abilities to anyone, and even though he didn't know this girl, he felt he should trust someone at this time after everything he'd been through.

"...you mean to say she's a _seer?_ I've heard of them, but they are near extinction. The rest have gone into hiding because they are prized after," Hinata said, dropping her voice to lower volumes. "You must have had a hard time all these years keeping her powers a secret. That's not easy to live with in this world, especially with the last war and this new one happening..."

The conversation had to come to an end, at least until they were safely out. And he learned what her eyes' ability was: the Byakugan, which could pierce through even wall and see every tiny detail and life-form, down to the body's inner system which scared the living daylights out of him.

_But wow...she's really something. Except, what about against an army like those ruffians upstairs - or on this floor?_

Beyond them, as they carried on, was darkness as well as rats in those shadows. Naruto had to stick close to her so her eyes could be the ones to show them the way out of here.

After some time passed, after climbing through shattered stone walls into more rickety surroundings, their luck changed when the duo encountered another hole in the wall by chance! Hinata's eyes pierced through it from the distance even before they came to see what was there, and what they saw was her cue to turn the oculars off and give her irises some rest.

"Oh, my...Naruto, it's a _burial chamber!_"

By the looks of it, it could be the tomb of the emperor who built this temple, and then Orochimaru laid siege. And even though everything here was collecting dust, there appeared to be assorted treasures like armor and weapons - but also _gold, silver and jewels_. Naruto was so enraptured by what he was seeing that he didn't pay attention to the loose bricks before himself, and as a consequence, he and Hinata found themselves tumbling through and blinded by the dust and debris that flew before their eyes...

...and when it cleared, Naruto found himself in a position that couldn't have come at a worst time.

He was on his back, out of breath, and Hinata was right on top of him with her legs parted to either side of his hips. He was shocked, and so was she by the looks of it - and her fair cheeks were pink as roses. _Oh, my, and I can just imagine Pervy Sage having a good laugh and the time of his life if he sees this!_

He had only just met this young woman, but WHY did these mishaps have to happen? He had to fight off what his body was doing to him, and he cleared his throat which got her attention. She repeated the gesture and quickly slid off of him, sitting upright on her knees and dusting herself off as well as smoothing out her hair; part of him wondered how she didn't lose that crown of flowers.

"Ahem, we have to look for weapons before someone comes in."

He wholeheartedly agreed.

There wasn't a lot to choose from when they looked through the ancient but majestic treasure, and several weapons appeared blunt from years of non-use - but eventually, Naruto's attention fell to the tomb that rested in the middle of all of this. He had to push through giant cobwebs, making sure there were no spiders around first, and then found himself gazing upon the grave of the emperor Orochimaru must have murdered to get to where he was now. He gasped at the majesty of the _sword_ that rested above the lid of its dead master's coffin.

_Pure silver...the hilt golden and embedded with jewels...this emperor must have been a great warrior in his day. _

He looked up when Hinata picked a crossbow to accentuate her smaller build, but it looked powerful all the same: indescribable craftsmanship which was elongated and curved wood, pure brown as the forest, and carved with delicate dark swirls. Her eyes shimmered with pure enthusiasm.

It was then that he noticed a smaller sword attached now to her belt, the blade appearing to be curved and linked to a hilt of ebony like her hair without an ornament except at the crown; it was a shimmering opal dancing with the rainbow. Somehow, the sight of her excited him.

Bad experiences with girls, and this one was helping him get out as well as treating him with genuine kindness. Never mind that he was just an inexperienced pig keeper's assistant.

But then, behind them, a commotion was heard at the end of this tomb. He and Hinata froze, quickly ducking behind a giant column to hide and listen in on what was going on.

"...hurry, in with it!"

There was Kabuto the rat, and he was opening two great doors sided with more snake statuary for two big guys who were hauling a wheelbarrow towards wherever those doors led - and the most ghastly thing appeared partially from under that sheet which made Hinata stifle a gasp behind her hand and Naruto grit his teeth.

_The gloved hand of a _dead man.

~o~

Whatever that corpse was for - or _corpses,_ and it made her shudder - they couldn't stay here any longer. They had to move before those freaks came back.

Moving up, weapons in hand - she was amazed and perhaps a bit jealous at Naruto's sword, which happened to be the dead previous emperor's - the duo rushed out of these dungeons and made their way upstairs after taking a spiral flight north...and their luck turned when another person might join their ranks.

_That is, if we can get to HIM if that ghastly man leaves._

Up the stairs led to a door with a window and bars so that they heard what was going on - and there was the voice who just wouldn't stop barking at the likely captor: "...just what's gonna happen to me, is it?"

"Konoha scum, you'll eventually die before or after you cave in and give His Majesty what he needs. Just like your friends before you," the guard growled, and it was then that Naruto recognized him, harshly whispering to her.

"I saw him passed out when I snuck in here for Tonton, and his dog - that mangy beast -" he hissed, pointing out the snarling, drooling wolf which was threatening to chew the poor prisoner down to the bone if he tried anything despite being entrapped to the wall. "- barked like it was ready to eat me, except I got lucky with the fact it was chained in place."

_You're lucky to still be alive then...but this man..._

To look at him warranted a heart cracking in many places: he had one eye which looked scarred over as if someone slashed it, which meant he would have to wear an eye patch if she and her companion ever got him out, and she could think of many ways for that to be tended to. His hair was silver and unkempt, but the bottom half of his face was strangely covered with a dark cloth. His clothes were the dark green and blue of a soldier, the vest being green as the forest leaves.

"He does need our help," Naruto whispered as soon as the guard and his snarling beast were gone, and that was it. Hinata was the first one to slip in, quiet as the smallest bug, and appeared before the startled, bruised soldier who held in his exclamations of surprise.

"Hello there. We're going to get you out of here, and you're coming with us."

The man looked at them both with a raised eyebrow, even as Naruto began to work on untying those ropes which had been in place rather than chains, attached to the board which hung him with his feet still touching the ground. "Pardon me? Why would a young couple like you want to help _me?_"

He thought they were a _couple_, and it made her cheeks heat a little. But her companion was there before her, despite her memory recalling _her body_ accidentally laying on top of his after he fell through the wall and into the tomb and treasury combined. If her father had seen that, his expression would tell the exact story about his disapproval of such impropriety.

Naruto stopped what he was doing as soon as he had the man's right hand freed from its restraint. "Y-young couple? I don't know what you think, old man, but we are NOT a couple. She got me out of my cell, and now we are together in getting you out, because one more makes the chance better." He then got to working on the other hand, using what impressive strength he had with _the sword_, whereas his own hands had done so much and needed no more strain.

That pure blade cut through rope without trouble, and the Konoha soldier rubbed his wrists together, now walking out of the cell with them, and they were all heading back in the direction of the stairs to find the treasury and resting place of the old emperor - to get him his weapon, or weapons. Since his own had been also taken upon capture.

"And by the way, I remember you well...Kakashi. I haven't seen you since I was a little boy."

Hinata was taken aback by the fact he knew the man who instantly recognized him, as well. "Oh, wait...Naruto! Yes, you're right." His only eye seemed to be smiling at him. "You've become the man that your father had been. But it's a shocker to see you in this place..." That eye narrowed.

"What mess have you yourself gotten into?"

Despite their circumstances, Hinata smiled because two people recognized each other and increased the survival and escape chances.

~o~

_Kakashi..._

He knew the man when he was a younger boy, because his late father had mentored him. He recalled good things about the man with the silver hair and single eye which had been cut in one battle against Oto's finest. _From what I remember, he was one hell of a fighter...and still is._

_But it doesn't explain why he was one of those captured. _

Naruto didn't need to ask if he was one of their own, because it HAD to be true. Except there was no time to ask any questions; they had to help him get his weapon and then find a way out of here. So, they were back in the chamber of the dead emperor and all those precious jewels and weaponry...

...but after Kakashi - who only looked like an old man but wasn't really - had with him a _pole-arm_, which was a blade at one end and a long pole at the other and was eventually joined by a belt which had every dagger in existence, the trio was greeted with a frightening surprise visitor who roared his presence as soon as he caught them off-guard. _Another big, bald guy with a spiked club - typical. And damn, he smells as bad as he looks...and ugh, those large lips and black eyes give him the look of a giant toad. _

"The pig boy, the wench...and the enemy." He raised his weapon to strike at them, but Hinata was the first to act, raising her crossbow and shouting at Kakashi to get behind her; he obeyed, apparently still tired and injured that he relied on them both for now.

_Don't need to have her eyes or be a doctor to know he's had a lot done to him. _

The blunt weapon caught her arrows and broke them like twigs, which shocked her and made her back into Kakashi who told her that she did what she could - and now it was up to Naruto, who felt himself acting on impulse with miraculous results when the big man with the animal fur on his body advanced on him for the kill.

The sword he carried seemed to have a life of its own, but never did he expect anything like this. It gave him something that the average training from Jiraiya never did: _power._

The blade flashed every rainbow color there was when it smashed the wood and blunt but lethal spikes to smithereens before the amazed eyes of both Hinata and Kakashi - and his own as well as the terrified toad-man.

**R and R! :D**


	5. An Unlikely Group of Friends

**Hope the wait was worth it, because I put up the first chapter of a new story called "An Offer She Can't Refuse" (an ItaSaku tale), and doing this differently from the movie has now begun happening. Thus precision.**

**R and R upon finish reading. :D**

Chapter Five

An Unlikely Group of Friends

"Naruto..." Kakashi was apparently at a loss for words at what he was seeing. "That sword..."

"...belonged to the dead emperor back there," he finished for the older man, still in awe himself. He stood up, still holding the magically glowing blade with both hands. He still could hardly believe it himself; this wasn't a surprise, but what the hell?!

_This is...the sword of a warrior! I haven't had the kind of strain Pervy Sage, my parents, Kakashi here and all the others like them endured - but oh, does this feel great?! Fluid swings, even balancing and EVERYTHING! _

Kakashi had to duck then. "Naruto, please, put that down before you really cut one of us!" he exclaimed, bringing both hands over his head. This made Naruto gulp and put the weapon on his belt; he had never been so happy, however, than he was now. If only the old man and his parents could see him now! He might get them both out of here with this alone since it clearly could do so much.

However... "But Kakashi, why didn't you get him, too? I get you're hurt and all -"

"Because I _am _hurt," the man said with agitation. "Got myself beaten so much I need proper tending. Some soldier I am at the moment." Now there was sarcasm and an attempt at humor, which made him laugh, but Hinata didn't think it was funny at all.

"Honestly, you two. But Kakashi, perhaps I can help you if we can find something out there," she offered kindly, tucking her crossbow beneath her arm while the arrows were behind her back.

Now they were running out of here, making way for the stairs again and sticking together but armed and ready for the kill. Each hallway and corridor they passed beforehand had no one - until now. Hinata shrieked at the sight of the ugly dog of a man who came at them with a sword no different than Naruto's, though not bejeweled, and that thing didn't stand a chance when the young man brought it up. Behind him, Hinata turned and raised her bow and arrow, striking one man in the eye and sending him screaming down the stairs in pain...while the magic of the emperor's blade threw Naruto's opponent overhead to sail into his comrades. The trio watched them go down in a heap, earning a laugh before they had to hurry.

And so, they passed by the many barrels of obvious alcohol, which gave Naruto an idea that Kakashi figured out with a twinkle in his eye. "I got to see this!"

"And here you two will!" With that, the blade of might pierced every barrel until red wine and clear sake poured out to create such a slippery mess that it was too bad they couldn't stay and watch the show, since more of those evil men in animal skins and tattered cloths were coming from everywhere they would pass...

...but now that they were upstairs, the drawbridge was in sight. _Thank the gods - and thank this sword for helping us!_

_And damn, I'm impressed Hinata can shoot targets with or without her Byakugan._

Right now, that ocular power was back on, so that she tabbed them on incoming unwanted followers. But then, they had to learn the arrow supply for her was suddenly becoming limited. This made her unhappy because there had been no time to find more of them, and that there was hardly _any._ But no matter; she had his back and Kakashi's, so he had theirs in return. And when the "old" soldier was well, he would give his chops like Naruto remembered the few times he'd seen him as a child.

"There they are!" It was just like Kabuto the loyal rat to show up in the lead just as they reached the drawbridge, axes and knives all being thrown at the group and narrowly missing.

At this rate - each time he dodged an axe, a knife or even a hunter's arrow on a pole - he was going to lose his balance and fall off the small bridge, and no doubt he would be pierced along with the girl and the war veteran himself, so there was one obvious thing to do:

Naruto regained his balance and swung the sword to his right, cutting through the chain to make the bridge fall and allow them to get out of here.

The brightness of the fire made them all pause in horror and dismay at what they were seeing. It also did what he and his new friends wanted, and by this time, they turned and ran out of Oto temple - _take THAT, you cowards, so-called "brave warriors" of the Serpent King" _\- in time for the gate to fall behind them and block those idiots from coming out again. Trying to trap them and failing.

Naruto couldn't resist turning and blowing his tongue out at the creeps - and to Orochimaru who hadn't heard yet - and not caring that he could be getting ahead of himself. At least they were safe, and there was one place they were going to rest at, if they weren't too far away.

_Then we can talk about finding Tonton and that cauldron...the cause of all our miseries. _

~o~

The pig boy got away.

So did the fairy princess and that Konoha war hero who wasn't in the best of shapes to defend himself, much less his new allies - and that inexperienced boy using _the late emperor's sword!_

Kabuto had only heard stories about that thing, ever since he was a child while in the service of Lord Orochimaru, but no one ever saw it. He always assumed his master knew and kept it hidden away for his own reasons until the time was right, which was his fashion. To see it in all its sheer willpower and glory...!

But there was nothing glorious in letting those three vermin get away.

Someone had to tell the Serpent King, and it had to be HIM of all people. No matter if it wasn't his fault; it was always _him_ to get blamed for things like this. His master found him useful, which was why he had been kept around all this time, though he got the brunt of the fault out of the soldiers above him - over major and even the smallest matters alike. To bear that sinister smile and the silky smooth, faux kind words which assured him that he did try...then punishment administered. How often did Kabuto have to put up with this until the Dragon Cauldron would be found?

The young man found himself creeping up the stairs, lit by serpentine torches - _how much death and snake is one man or woman supposed to take?!_ \- and he hesitated at knocking first, flinching in fear because of the next dish he would receive from the Serpent King...and future Dragon Emperor.

His voice was out in a slight squeak before he cleared his throat.

"S...sire?"

There was a long, pregnant pause before the response came from the darkness along with rustling, which told him one thing: _he's shed his skin, just like the snake he is physically. _That alone gave him the spiders up his spine.

"...did you bring news of the pig?" The displeasure was evident at the disturbance, but the man-snake allowed poor Kabuto to come inside and close the door behind him. "Well?"

The impatience made him threaten to break out into cold sweat. "N-no, Your Majesty...it's the pig keeper. He's...escaped." He gulped and waited for the response which eventually took longer than anticipated; it was enough to cause him to lower his guard which nearly cost him his life.

A pale, spidery hand appeared and latched itself onto his tunic to hoist him with such brute power off the floor so that his feet barely touched, though not wrapping around his throat like the night before when the seer pig escaped, leaving her keeper behind for captivity. Nevertheless, it caused Kabuto's heart to leap within his ribcage. _Oh, no, I'm going to die now..._

But it wasn't to be.

"...you let the boy get away. What of the...others?" Orochimaru asked, golden eyes narrowed in the darkness of the room, and you could hear the slurping of his tongue against his lips. "The soldier and the maiden herself."

Kabuto swallowed again at the mention of the fairy guardian who had been captured a week ago before Tsunade's pig was brought here; the girl's Byakugan would have led them to the cauldron, and his master had thought the swine would be more cooperative than a living, breathing human, and if she refused, her other use would be not only death, but something too ghastly to admit even to himself...

Orochimaru already figured it out even before he could answer, for he released him and let the young man fall to his knees. "Hmm...well, the odds against them remain stacked. Kabuto, I entrust you to find them all and the pig. Send out the dragons, and I shall reward you if you are successful."

Those two beasts who brought them the pig in the first place. Well, they did it before, so there was no sense in not doing it again. Kabuto nodded and hurried out of there if he valued his own skin, which added to the shivers. However, he was also glad to still be alive to fight another day.

_All I have to do is get the pig and her keeper, and the others, but it's _these two _he really wants. _

~o~

And he thought they would never make it here: the safe house which Hinata found for them based on what Naruto could tell her.

_It's just like Pervy Sage said...and the barriers are up, as long as Orochimaru's dragons don't get to find us HERE. They'll do that if we go out there without being careful._

At least, according to Hinata's eyes, those flying fiends were nowhere near them yet. For now. And in the meantime, he was excited to finally be away from that nightmarish place, glad Tonton got away - _just pray no big animal didn't eat her, but she has to be smart enough to hide away, unless Pervy Sage found a way to retrieve her and must be looking for me..._

He found himself thinking of the old man, his disappointment in himself forgotten, since Naruto was sure he could make things right again by saving the world. Him and these two with him.

_Because heroes earn their respect and don't get it handed easily. I had to learn that the hard way._

This little house was somehow similar to the one he grew up in, but at the same time, there was so much more. Now he knew appearances to the world mattered more than living how you really wanted. Here was a single large bed to sleep, but that meant two could share or just one - and if two people, somehow they would have to try their hardest in keeping to their own sides. As well, the cooling unit had plenty of food to preserve and keep fresh, complete with the fire pit and all.

Here they were going to replenish and hide, then talk about what to do next without just leaping into it, which Naruto knew he'd done - and he still should have kept his eye on the pig, kept her on the leash, but you could never go back and change your mistakes.

Hinata was amazed. "Oh, this is far more than we would expect. And so much more than we live at home."

"I'm impressed myself. Nothing much has changed since last time I was here," Kakashi noted, letting the lady go first, which made Naruto remember that courteous manner. She slid off her crossbow and arrows from her back and shoulder before dropping them in the chair beside the door they came through. The soldier followed suit in resting the pole-arm against the wall on the other side of the chair. Naruto did the same with his beloved new sword, though part of him felt sad when he temporarily parted with it.

Wincing, Kakashi slumped at the table in the middle of the room; the bedroom was through the doorway northbound. "Naruto, where are the...medical supplies? I have a broken rib and a few cuts, with one near my..." He grunted and found himself unable to finish his sentence. _The injuries are getting to him more now._

"Up...in..." He searched high and low in the cupboards, until he came across said supplies in the bottom right. He grinned triumphantly. "Here they are!"

He watched Hinata work on the soldier who didn't seem to be in any more pain after she weaved her hands with some strange signs he wasn't familiar with, then he was surprised when a bluish green glow covered them and was brought to the lower left side of Kakashi's torso; he appeared calmer than before. Within moments - which felt like forever - the broken rib was sealed together, and then onward to all those minor cuts closed...

...ending with the puncture from a knife which could have killed him if it touched a vital organ. _It's amazing he withstood all that damage; he was strong stuff since early on._ Naruto was impressed with the white-eyed girl's healing skills. "How did you learn all that?"

"Where I'm from, it comes naturally especially in women. But...I do better than my own younger sister. She's more rebellious than I am," Hinata answered, cheeks slightly pink again as if embarrassed at giving herself too much credit, but that was something he did a lot in his younger years.

"You would have made a fantastic medic in the field," Kakashi told her, taking a few breaths that came easily. "Just like one of my friends was..."

During his healing, the man revealed his reasons for being imprisoned: he was indeed one of many captured, but refused to divulge important information to condemn his own home, like the others. He was the only survivor left until Naruto and Hinata came his way. Thus confirming what Kurama the fox told him.

Thinking of the little grouch made Naruto wonder how he was doing now. _And Pervy Sage..._

"Weren't you frightened?" Hinata asked him, cleaning the supplies at the water source that didn't come from a well, but a pump system which not everyone had the luxury to afford. Should have been a stupid question, but the seasoned man smoothly laughed and said that perhaps because he was captive for what felt like a long time, he really was just looking forward to getting the hell out of there with her and Naruto.

Was _he _afraid? He was gonna lie if he said he wasn't, since they were running for their lives, and he was braver and safer with the sword's help that the three of them got out of the temple and made it here. This Hinata pointed out herself, and then he was insulted.

"My father was a great warrior, and I think he'd be proud of me. I thought I handled it well."

She laughed and leaned across the table, putting both hands beneath her chin. "With or without that sword, you're courageous..." Then her face fell. "But my father always said it takes more than a magic sword, because bravery comes from your own heart to triumph."

He wanted to snap back and ask what a girl knew about this, before he had to think quickly and remind himself that he never would have gotten out of Orochimaru's dungeon if not for _this girl_. One with eyes that saw everything and led the way, had his back when he needed it - and just healed their new companion and friend. Which also meant she knew more about magic than he ever would.

_Which means I need to know more than before. Old man Jiraiya and his woman knew all about it, and so did their old friend before he turned against them. I was sheltered from the truth until two days ago. _

If this broke out into a big fight, that meant things would be far more difficult than now. They were together because of Orochimaru, Tonton who was still out there, and that damned cauldron they needed to find, but they had no idea where to start. Unless Hinata's family, whoever they were...

Kakashi was speaking now, intervening and being stern like a father. "She's right, Naruto. Having been fighting for a long time and losing friends more times than I can count - even my own father - I know that being a warrior means more than just strength and bravery. I also knew your parents, which means they've known what I have just said. Master Jiraiya no doubt told you all of that."

"...he did," Naruto answered, exhausted and tired of fighting. "He raised me, took care of me and entrusted Tonton to me. And I was scared of seeing his disappointed face for losing her -"

He never got to finish speaking before they heard something outside: _a crack of twigs!_

Someone - or _something _\- was outside the cottage.

**This story is halfway done, and I'm happy with how it's turning out. :D I also watched Disney's "Moana" for the first time, and there are no words to describe the beauty of it all in the characters, the backgrounds and attention to detail, the story as a whole - and the MUSIC. I can't get enough of "We Know the Way" (when she goes into the cave of the ancestors and sees a vision of their voyaging past).**


	6. The Fairest of Folk

**My father is gonna be taken to the hospital because of his condition, which makes me go back to fearing for the future in regards of my current works (maybe after I finish this story and "Honeymoon in Cambodia", which leaves "An Offer She Can't Refuse" which I recently put up). :S I'm really scared. **

**If it happens, then I have to finish this story, "Honeymoon in Cambodia", and "An Offer She Can't Refuse" (or the last one could be on hiatus until everything is straightened in the future).**

Chapter Six

The Fairest of Folk

"What is THAT?" Hinata whispered, standing up quickly and delicately but quietly rushing over to get her bow and arrows, dropping onto her knees as she slung the arrows behind her back, taking one out and adjusting it to firing position. She was going to act for her boys and be the eyes, but if there was nothing, then it had to only be a small animal. _But near the Forest of Death or even within, small and harmless beasts are rare. That place has namely dangerous brutes like bears, snakes in all sizes and so forth._

Naruto and Kakashi joined her after gathering their weapons. The elder was crouched with the pole end touching the floor and the blade upwards, while Naruto was sitting on the backs of his thighs with the sword resting in his lap. "You gonna shoot them if it's those dragons?" he asked her, biting his bottom lip, making her laugh and admire this side of him. Father was right, and the sword didn't make you the brave man all the way.

"I doubt I'll pierce them fatally through their armor, but I'll be able to find a weak point in not only their eyes - also nonfatal - but someplace where their hearts are located."

Kakashi chuckled nervously at her ingenious analysis. "Best to protect our spot if you do just that, Hinata. Better the fast way and save us more time, my late father always said."

However, when she turned on the Byakugan, what she saw were no dragons in the skies, and no signs of human life or even the great beasts of the Forest of Death, but a...

"Naruto, Kakashi...it's a fox. And it's in the garden."

The garden which had every fruit and vegetable there was. Never did she think a _fox_ would be in their location, unless it had its reasons for retreating into an unforgiving environment like this. _The poor thing...it must not be able to find any meat in this place. _And when she told the men what was out there, relaxing her veins and optics, Naruto's eyes bulged to the size of apples.

"I...I think I know who it is." He stood up quickly, still carrying his sword, and wasted no time running out that door. "KURAMA!"

~o~

Not only did the garden have every fruit and vegetable, but there were also lilies in every color from dark rosy red outlined with white, dark maroon with white tips, to even lush pink roses brushed with pristine white, fiery red ones as well as sweet lily-of-the-valley, ground-covering moss in pink and green, finished with evergreen ivy accented with purple-blue flowers crawling about the walls of this cottage and the rocks.

And when he was outside, there was the reddish-brown fluff who must have known they were here before he arrived, thought he could be sneaky. Hearing his name, the fox jerked his head up and paused in midst of enjoying what appeared to be a tomato. The juices dripped off his mouth like light blood.

"Naruto?! I thought you'd be down for the count in Oto," Kurama growled, though he seemed amused, except that didn't mean Naruto was going to be happy especially after last time.

"I gave you something last time, but you came to someone else's garden; you could have just asked." He crossed over and took a few more products, like some carrots and a lettuce head. He set them down before the little beast who took the orange vegetables into his paws and began to nibble. Behind him, the footsteps of Kakashi and Hinata sounded as they decided to come out and investigate out of combined curiosity.

Kurama bared his teeth after he was finished with one carrot. "Look, I was hungry, okay, brat? I didn't know this place was YOURS. In fact, no one has been here in years, yet it remains intact. It's not my business to know anyone else's." He blinked and licked his teeth of any remnants. "What about that pig of yours? Succeed?"

Naruto looked down at the earth. "Yeah," he answered, unsure if he heard himself. "But I got her away and wound up captured in her place. Then I met...these people." He turned to look behind him so he could see the pair, the lady leaning forward with a kind smile that seemed to light the fox's face up. _This is a first..._

"A pretty lady is something I haven't seen in ages - especially a human," Kurama said when he looked her up and down, making her blush again. This was a side to him Naruto never thought he would see, and he admitted he kind of liked it...but on second thought, Kakashi seemed rather suspicious.

"Naruto, is this a friend of yours? Foxes are clever tricksters."

The man was right, but Kurama hadn't been like that - yet. He didn't even know the little beast well enough, though he helped lead him to Tonton...and where she was led Naruto to these two. "He's not a friend, but he's not that bad, either," he answered. "He saw Tonton -" He stopped himself then and there, the light coming on when he realized that he could ask again if there was luck...

"Say, Kurama...have you seen her pass again by any chance?"

~o~

That fox...he was a charmer, wasn't he?

However, Kakashi wasn't convinced this creature was to be trusted, which she was familiar with, having encountered a few kitsunes in her days, and her ancestors before her. Foxes could trick you to get what they wanted; that happened to her family twice, and Hiashi never forgave himself for letting it happen.

_A fox disguised as his wife, which Mother saw and took her own life for...and another disguised as my uncle who wanted to kill my father over that one's mate who'd played as Mother. And Father killed his own brother, too late finding out the truth. _

The events nearly shattered her own trust, though females - the majority - were naturally forgiving and understanding, only her younger sister was far more difficult, as she was still only a child.

Except this one she could see with her eyes was telling the truth. "Well, regardless, I'd rather be on guard," Kakashi told her, and that was final. She had to shake her head. _You're too suspicious for your own good, but I suppose it can't be helped. _

Naruto seemed to keep his guard up, too, after everything that happened. Hinata was inclined to agree with them both only for safety's sake. Their agreement was to wait out at the safe cottage, until Kurama mentioned the pig tracks he'd seen before coming here for his next meal - and surprisingly thanking Naruto for what he'd given him before going into Oto's temple - but never imagined the human who fed his starving stomach would be here at this place.

Apparently, Kurama had no family to go back to, and was empty of fresh meat which was a fox's primary feed; this made Hinata's heart break, so she had the idea they could let him stay if he had nowhere to go, never mind he preferred living alone. Here she decided to trust him as well as her boys with her story about her family's experiences with shapeshifting foxes. This perked Kurama up as he continued to lead the way through the forest which was safer than the Forest of Death - and it was a location she recognized at once but chose to hold her tongue for now.

"My father had...been with one who transformed itself into his own wife - my mother. She caught them together and was so devastated that she threw herself into the river to drown," Hinata whispered, wrapping her arms around herself, having chosen to swing her bow onto her back beside the arrows. "And something similar happened to my uncle. This had been out of revenge, because the female fox who pretended to be my mother had a mate - or maybe a potential one - and he went after my father by shifting into my uncle, and Father accidentally murdered his own brother before he found out the truth. These events plagued my family for years, though Father never forgave himself for the deaths of Mother and Uncle."

The tears rolled down her cheeks like perfect dewdrops, to which Naruto surprisingly reached over to wipe with the pad of his thumb. The sensation shot through her skin and made her jolt back a little.

Kakashi took all of this in with a tinge of sadness as well as some measure of joy that someone was comforting another in their time of need. _And this is someone who keeps losing people he cares about...but that means he has US now. _

Hinata could only hope her father accepted her new friends - but she wasn't sure she could say the same of the little fox right here. Which meant he had to wait outside one of their many secret entrances about the forest...

And it just so happened they arrived at once, following half a day's travel and a fallen tree trunk which served as a bridge over the calm river they crossed to get to the other side...coming right to a great pond surrounded with tall grasses and pure white irises centered with buttery yellow. _This is it._ The pig tracks ended here, remaining fresh in the earth even now.

Though appearances could be deceiving when you looked at the great stepping stones that traveled to the other end of the body of water.

"See, Naruto? I haven't lied at all," Kurama pointed out, sitting down on his hind legs as he gazed upon the sparkling surface.

"Yeah...they're still fresh, too," Naruto noted, kneeling down before the hoofprints which paused at the edge of the pond, while the little fox began to jump on the stones, and Hinata snapped inside.

"WAIT!"

All eyes were on her now, even as she shouted at Kurama to get off the rock and come back onto the land. "Gentlemen, I know where this place is...and my people live here," she told them, getting a dumbstruck reaction from Naruto and an equally befuddled one from Kakashi who inquired what she meant. Though Kurama seemed to figure it out.

"Oh, I believe I know - beneath the earth is the fair folk. I have heard of them enough, lady."

"H-Hinata," Naruto finally said, "you mean to say you're _one_ of the fairies that live around here? I thought they were just small people..."

"They are," Kakashi cut in, "but there are humans like us who guard them and care for them." His only eye looked her way. "Let me guess: you're the daughter of their guardian. And this is one of the places which leads to where they live." She nodded and wasted no time explaining how to get in, which no one else knew about.

One of them had to step on a rock which was the key to the lock, the latter being none other than the water. And they had to remain on that rock to create a whirlpool which the rest of them had to jump into and then be taken underground without drowning. The magic of the _feafōku _would keep them safe, and beneath was where they would be judged as befit to walk amongst their realm...

...except Kurama wouldn't be so lucky, because of her family history. The little beast huffed and folded his small arms across his chest in a pout. "Well, in that case, I shall wait up here on the surface to spare the trouble."

_Done deal. _

And this was what happened afterwards: she stepped on first, having done this before, and it transpired as she explained. The rock - which was halfway through the line - began to spin around and create the whirlpool which grew faster and faster enough to throw her off balance and into the water, causing Naruto to exclaim and Kakashi to shout her name.

"GET IN, YOU TWO!" Hinata shouted, so that she wouldn't be the only one to go back home safe and sound, excited and nervous to see her father and sister again, as well as the small people they protected.

~o~

If this were anything else, Naruto would have thought they were going to die like this before they could save their world. But thank the gods Hinata warned them and explained ahead of time.

The water took them all down and released them into crystalline surroundings; they were in an underground _cave_ that was too beautiful to be real. Water slid off and vanished into the soil to give it life to grant above, without making a mess of anything. He felt his lungs constrict as he glanced around and saw the only flowers being lilies: some were so intensely pink he'd have thought they would be jewels. Others were so unique in that they were golden yellow speckled with ruby-red spots, and the rest were pure white striped with black and red towards their hearts - _glowing like the moon._

This place was so unreal, sparkling with life too perfect to exist, though he'd seen so much to know that nothing was impossible.

He, Kakashi and Hinata were standing in the middle of all of this, except there were no other sentient beings to greet them - until the flora surrounding them _rustled,_ and out came the smallest-looking people he'd EVER seen. Naruto almost said something that would have offended them.

They all appeared to be hand-sized, their heads perhaps average to accommodate their structures, but all bore hair red as fire and different eye colors from blue to green, brown and black. Their facial features were different, at least. _My gods, I've never seen such SMALL people before. I heard about them in stories Pervy Sage used to tell me, but now..._

A soft, baritone but commanding voice then spoke, echoing and surrounding all of them. This made Hinata smile, but Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin at being startled. Kakashi simply looked around calmly in an attempt to seek out the voice of their obvious host.

"Thank you for bringing my daughter back safely...but I demand to know your identities before I allow you within our sanctuary."

**The fair folk were inspired by **_**kijimuna, **_**which are small wood sprites in Okinawan mythos of Japan. These little beings lived in trees (commonly the banyan), and were said to be the size of small children, with not only red hair on their heads, but their BODIES as well. There will be more on the lore in the next chapter, so review for now. :D **


	7. Heroes in the Making

**My father in the hospital has increased anxieties. I'm gonna finish this story one way or another, so here comes the latest. **

**Long story short, forgive me for keeping you all waiting. I'm on a roll with "Honeymoon in Cambodia", which is coming along just as smoothly. :) Review when you're done! **

Chapter Seven

Heroes in the Making

_Oh, this man...this man is her father. _

There he stood, across the small but plentiful silver-blue stream that penetrated the earth and broke through the vast garden. He was striking but also intimidating: his hair was long and dark as the woods, streaked with silver, though his face appeared younger than he was. His eyes were the same as Hinata's. He was clad in a simple neutral robe in layers to dark brown beneath.

And behind him appeared a young girl with her brunette hair chopped to around her ears, matching eyes in addition, but she was in a shade of orange to match the fruit. Though she didn't look particularly happy at seeing the visitors in their domain. "Father, what if they give away our location should we let them go?"

"Hush, Hanabi," the man ordered, frowning at her from the corner of his eye, before returning it to the trio who stood up. "Forgive my youngest daughter; she can be feisty around newcomers, but it's been ages since we had encounters with your kind above."

Kakashi cleared his throat, straightening himself and dusting off his vest even though there was nothing on it. "Yes, well, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance...sir. But who exactly...oh, never mind." His eye widened slightly. "You're not only Hinata's family, but you're like these ones." He gestured to the small beings who gathered around the group, some going up to their princess who stepped away and made way to embrace her father and sister. "Only you are far more evolved," he finished, and this earned a slight furrow of the brows from Hinata's father.

"You are right about that information, but as to how, we don't discuss it with the outside world. I believe my daughter must have mentioned it." _Actually, not the part with forbidding to let the world know,_ Naruto thought with a swallow as he still couldn't get over the little ones around him and Kakashi...nor could he get over the fact she was a somewhat _princess._ Royalty if not the same as humans, which made him a little overwhelmed now, but he swore to not let that change everything.

"Not at all; just the scant information that Kakashi here knows," Naruto had to say. "But are you all the only ones here?" Not counting the dead wife and brother of this man, of course - and didn't Hinata say she had a cousin who died trying to protect her from Orochimaru's dragons? _Which she told us on the way to the protective cottage, since before was not much time._

The father nodded. "Yes, there are only three of us left. Thanks to certain creature tricksters," he spat, making Naruto wince as he thought of Kurama, glad the fox wasn't here. "My wife and my brother remain burdens I bear alone, no matter if time has healed the wounds. These girls -" He put one arm around sweet Hinata's waist, the other around the feisty Hanabi's. "- are all I have left besides these people we protect." He nodded at the now-cheering redheaded fair folk. Then he laughed, clearing his throat.

"Forgive me for my lack of manners. I am Lord Hiashi, and I gathered you are Kakashi -" He turned to the soldier who bowed his head as affirmative. "- and you are?" he asked of Naruto who gave his name proudly. "Ah, yes...Naruto. Jiraiya's assistant and son of Minato and Kushina."

_...someone else knew Ma and Pa, and that means he knows about...!_

"And that means I will offer you my gratitude and any reward you ask for, after rescuing and returning my daughter to us," Hiashi finished, much to his daughter's embarrassment. He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple before averting to the pouting Hanabi, chuckling and petting her head to assure her she was still his other angel. The affectionate display touched Naruto's heart, making him think about the absence of parents who gave him that, but old man Jiraiya was close to that.

And back to Hiashi saying he'd been the hero, which was only HALF true. "Actually, sir, your daughter came to me first, then we helped this man -" he added with a jerk of his head towards Kakashi. "- so we all worked together. That's the truth; I'm not taking all the credit."

The man chuckled. "A noble pair you young men make, as well as being the first visitors we have had who were not deceptive and hostile - not like those devils who masqueraded as my wife and brother," he seethed before softening again. "And so is the inhuman guest we have and had to keep safe, should those flying demons come again." His eyes shimmered knowingly, directed at Naruto who knew exactly what - _who_ \- he was talking about.

"Lord Hiashi...you're talking about _Tonton._"

"Your pig, indeed. As a matter of fact, Hanabi, why don't you go get the girl and bring her?" Hiashi asked his younger daughter who begrudgingly agreed and turned to trudge off in the opposite direction which was one of several tunnels within these depths. You could hear the water dripping in sweet patterns.

_I can't believe it...Tonton DID reach the pond, except she didn't get across. She ended up _here_; she's been safe, as I thought, and with these people. How can I repay them?_

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, looks like my hunch that your pig would make it alive ended on a high note. I wouldn't be surprised if Jiraiya would be proud of you for all of this."

Naruto looked up at him, grateful and fighting the blubber building up. "Y-you don't know how much it means for me to hear that, Kakashi. Thanks to you, and Hinata." He glanced back over to her when she came walking up to him, and she caught him by surprise when she threw her arms around him, taking him into a taut embrace which nearly crushed his bones - for such a tiny female! Her father unleashed a laugh and then spoke in another language to the faerie folks who tittered with excitement, then backed off to give space when their youngest princess returned disgruntled...

...and before her was a small, pink and plump inhuman figure rushing HIS way. He cried out and fell to his knees, beyond happy and shedding a few tears of joy as he held his arms out.

_"Tonton!"_

She oinked and squealed as her way of sobbing with him, then wasted no time licking at his face. He gladly let her do it; he really needed it and hugged her but took great care to not crush her. Hinata knelt down and picked up her skirts as she did so, reaching out and petting the sow, rubbing her back and behind her head. Tonton sighed and leaned into the touch as she continued to give her attention to Naruto, her keeper and protector. _Thank the gods. Now we just have to get you back to Pervy Sage...somehow. Or back to the cottage, or let you stay here until our mission is complete. _

Yes, they needed to get back up to the surface and find the cauldron; that was when the topic shifted to none other than its seeker, as it was between Hiashi and Kakashi.

"So, Kakashi, we have not been up to the surface for some time. Is the...burning and death still occurring?"

Tonton paused in her happy licks and whimpered, nuzzling into Hinata now after Naruto let her go so he could listen to the conversation as the silver-haired man answered grudgingly. "You're referring to the snake king himself. The man responsible for more than enough deaths of our own...as well as the imprisonment of me and my friends, all of whom never made it out as I have," he seethed, hands clenching into fists.

This made Hiashi narrow his eyes, and Hanabi stuck to his side while baring her teeth in a ferocious snarl. Finally, she spoke, unafraid of getting a possible lashing later on, if that was how they lived - like humans. "We stood up to that monster, and he's the reason we live below the grounds," she said angrily, looking up at her father when he held up a finger to silence her, since she said enough.

"Yes, thus we are all beneath the earth and water, protecting our way of life. But because of him, my daughter was nearly taken away just as my nephew had been."

_They tried to fight him once before retreating down here to protect what's left of them. That also means they have hidden so well it's possible they have the cauldron somewhere down here..._ "We've seen that man," Naruto said, unable to hold back his shudder at not only the serpentine features, but those eyes which could hold you in place and then devour you when it was too late. "That's why we are..." He swallowed and hesitated with his words.

"...looking for the Dragon Cauldron."

A collective gasp arose from the crowd of fair folk who began whispering to themselves, but their master was impassive. Well, who said anything would be easy?

"The Dragon Cauldron - you realize how dangerous this will be compared to escaping Orochimaru's grasp? I had aided in concealing it very well that not even lesser evil men would find it - without our Byakugan," Hiashi said with a scowl, referring to Hinata. "I see...that's why he took you, my daughter. He needed you to seek it with your eyes, ending with something far worse when the job was done. And to destroy it will not be easy."

"But if we don't, then he will find it and wipe out all of us in the flick of a finger," Naruto insisted, glad that the man was involved in hiding it and DID know where it was, but fell inside when it wasn't in this location. "So, where is it hidden?" Hiashi shook his head, turning away; that made Naruto angry and about to say something else, but Kakashi's hand firmly rested on his shoulder.

"Lord Hiashi, we get how preposterous this is. Believe me, it would have seemed impossible to get out of those dungeons if not for your daughter and this one here, likely to waste away and doom the world now that we are involved in this. That damned relic which was responsible for the deaths of my mentor and his wife, same with Tsunade, and an innocent woman who loved Orochimaru - it has to be demolished before that snake becomes a _dragon_."

Hinata agreed with them. "He's right, Father. They would have been indisposed as I would have been. Naruto went to retrieve little Tonton -" She bounced the little big girl up and down in her arms, Tonton squealing a little to tell her she enjoyed it. "- and let himself be captured so she could get away. All of us are together now because of these events. If they are going, then I shall go back with them, and I might not get captured again the way I had been," she swore with that smile Naruto had grown to admire...and it caused his stomach to have the flips.

A pause before her father voiced his objections.

"I won't allow my eldest daughter to be ensnared by that serpent again, so I'll let you go with these two on your quest, on the condition that your weaponry will never be let out of sight - especially the sword of the emperor," Hiashi said when his irises flickered to the great sword Naruto remembered he still had; proudly smiling, he placed his palm on the hilt and lifted his chin high. Kakashi did the same and held up his pole-arm, the blade upwards, and bowed his head once. "And as to where the cauldron is, perilous as it may be..."

Hinata finished for him. "We don't have it in our possession; that was what Orochimaru believed when he drove us all from the surface. And as a matter of fact, I will lead the way."

~o~

Her father objected momentarily with good reason, and he was letting her be with the boys because they worked together as one, which was better than solo. _We are going to save our lands and the people and creatures in it!_

What made her happy was that Naruto was protecting her when she needed it; she was doing the same for him, and they had Kakashi and Kurama.

Hinata was stronger than most thought she was, and only her family knew that - and these two strong men with her. She was glad that she was taken seriously than most women were in this day and age, and long before. So, of course she had the capability as the men, and she looked forward to fighting again, especially since they were free as birds in the sky. Naruto and his sword made the odds better...as long as he kept it close, like Father told him strictly.

But before they left, the faeries sang a song that was reserved for her family. It was the kind to strike at your heartstrings, tugging them at will and never letting you forget.

_Our eyes, the moon_

_Our eyes pierce your soul_

_Dearest ones, a tale for you_

_The power of the eyes and soul_

_Our fair ones_

_We see the truth, we see beyond_

_We believe with all our might_

_Our eyes see the light_

"My, that's a majestic anthem," Kakashi noted when it was all done, and it was sweet and amusing to see Naruto shed a few tears which he quickly wiped, embarrassed at how unmanly he thought he looked.

"Y-y-yeah, I haven't heard such beautiful music in a long time, except our own..."

After that, there was another way out of here, and it was a tunnel that led them spiraling upwards and towards a tree with a wide trunk and a door of its own that wouldn't be distinguished at first sight by the mortal eye. It was a trick clever little Hanabi came up with on her own, which Hinata would have done. It had worked so well thus far, being one of many ins and outs to the _feafōku _and their guardians, besides the pond now far behind. This knowledge made Naruto whistle at the sophistication and intelligence, along with what more of the family history she told them and Kurama when they reunited and were on their way to where the Dragon Cauldron was hidden...

"They are excellent at fishing, which we learned from them, but they are content with living off the eyes and leaving the rest of the catch to us," Hinata explained, making the fox lick his lips and Naruto cringe, but Kakashi wasn't all that surprised as he lived off worst when he and his comrades lived in the wild on the field. "And they are known to play tricks, mostly for the fun of it. However...you have to be careful when befriending them, as it's worst than how human relationships and friendships decay." _And it can be over the most absurd of things._

As she talked, she offered to listen to their stories again while they journeyed across the border, and it was on the other side of the forest, but that didn't mean it would be any more pleasant than Oto - though if it was any consolation, there wouldn't be any dangerous beasts like that village of the enemy, or big predators of the Forest of Death. It didn't mean it would be any safer like Konoha, she was certain.

Naruto insisted there was nothing interesting to share, but his life was typical, and it revolved around putting up with Jiraiya's antics - he had the nickname "Pervy Sage", which made her giggle hysterically and Kakashi chuckle, since he never heard a more fitting name for the old man - after he lost Tsunade, his woman who owned sweet little Tonton, and Kakashi told of how his father had also been his world since his mother died in childbirth, but then the man who sired him took his own life after being disgraced following a mission where he faced the most difficult choice of a lifetime: to choose to save either his own men or the innocent people in danger.

"He chose his friends, obviously," Kurama said when they stopped at the end of the day to pitch a campfire - under cover, of course, and beneath an abandoned cave, but when morning broke or if Kurama's sensitive ears picked something up, they were going to jump flight, so to speak. "But that meant being unable to save the ones he was tasked with. It's a shame you humans are faced with more mess than us in the animal kingdom. I know what it's like to not be able to protect _everyone_." He grumbled and went to curl into a ball before going to sleep and not bothering to wait up on Kakashi's disgruntled response.

"Coming from someone who lost his family to hunters, am I right?" He looked to Naruto who nodded glumly. "Thought so. Guess he and I have more in common than I thought." Kakashi reached behind to scratch the back of his neck before taking his turn to rotate the dead rabbit on the spit they set up with branches either picked up from the ground or found from up in the trees.

_To kill a poor defenseless animal for food...and we have berries and fruits to pluck, which I did from home. But fruits can only do so much._

She referred to the exquisite raspberries which were like no other in the world, to her knowledge: one kind was mystical in that it started green and then morphed into the gold of the sun - _and Naruto's hair. _The other was also rich and unusual, starting first as the expected dark red before becoming BLACK. And the remainders saved were to be had with the cooked rabbit meat, and Kurama had his share already; they'd had two rabbits in the beginning, which was more than enough for everyone.

It was then that, in midst of the delicious meal, she saw Naruto's forlorn expression, and she knew he was thinking about Tonton whom he reunited with before parting once again, but she was going back to Jiraiya and would not be involved in this dangerous mission. That way, if their group DID encounter Orochimaru's dragons again or any of his soldiers, sweet Tonton wouldn't be forced to divulge again when she came so close.

"Don't worry, Naruto," Hinata assured him, finding it in herself to embrace him, and she loved the warm, comforting feeling, though it made him stiffen since no girl ever did this to him, which saddened her. It also angered her because of what he told her about the first girl he'd thought would like him as much as he thought HE did.

The next day, a mist was gathering when they set out again. And they had to pass through a rich bamboo and mushroom forest to come _HERE._

Kurama, it turned out, had been to where they were going, and she was grateful that he knew much of the land - as well as the area which was where the cauldron was "supposedly" hidden.

_Protected, really. _

Her Byakugan was in action as she scoured for any dragons above or signs of life that potentially threatened them, here in this miserable marsh mocked by lush green grass which thrived with life, many parts growing so high you could see nothing beyond. The trees and brushes were gnarly and dripping with slimy excuses for leaves, dark as Hinata's own hair, and the ground was so soft and mushy that its texture and scent made your senses knot with your stomach. Poor Naruto looked like he was going to gag, and as always, Kakashi got a kick out of this for his own amusement.

"It's all that amusing to find something to laugh about, is it not?" Kurama asked, sniffing the air and not flinching like them. Which told Hinata he was used to this. In the distance, you could hear the croaking of frogs and toads in this dreary place.

"Well...welcome to the land of Kusa," Hinata said softly, wary of these surroundings.

Kakashi hummed. "It's a shame that a long time ago, this was filled with people and life, before it was abandoned for unknown reasons. It can be said that it was a place for diplomats and spies, then becoming a front between Konoha and Iwa in the last war." _Which means this place was destroyed and overrun by wildlife without a care...and only a few humans could find refuge here, or are exiled. _

Now they were at a cliff which overlooked the landscape, and that was when they were greeted with the sight of the place they spilled sweat and drained their bones to find.

"Oh, that place - are we here?!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes the size of mushroom heads. "It's so...small!"

By small, he meant it was tiny to the eye, and perhaps small compared to the safe cottage and his home. She had to agree, but from what her eyes could strain, there were no present human forms, except many smaller ones which happened to be _frogs_. And several other things which gave away obvious practices of...

A loud grunt and a fall to the knees beside Kurama who growled at him over what an old oaf he really was despite his real age and his life as a soldier earned a dark eye as well as a silent warning - and what happened next turned out to be a moment of sheer accidental: poor Kakashi ended up sliding down the cliff, taking the fox with him who landed atop him after the man ended up facedown in the dirt. Dust flew before her and Naruto's eyes.

One way to make an entrance into Kusa and right in front of the cottage of the three witches who were said to reside.

**What more can be said about the Kijimuna the fair folk are based upon: "They are also known to be excellent fisherman, able to catch many fish, but then only eating one of the eyes of the fish before leaving the rest of it. The Kijimuna festival in Okinawa is named after them. Another name for the Kijimuna is "bungaya," which means roughly "Large-Headed." The Kijimuna are known to be very mischievous, playing pranks and tricking humans. One of their most well known tricks is to lie upon a person's chest, making them unable to move or breathe. This is known as "kanashibari." Even though the Kijimuna are tricksters, they have been known to make friends with humans. However, these relationships often go sour. A Kijimuna may offer to carry a human on its back as it leaps through the mountains and over the seas. The Kijimuna dislike people passing gas on their backs, however, and will immediately throw the human off, no matter where they were at the moment. The Kijimuna also hate octopuses."**

**As for the berries - they are raspberries in real life. The gold kind is named Fall Gold, and the other is Cumberland. Try Dutch Bulbs to see them. :P**

**The song "An Innocent Warrior" from Disney's Moana inspired me to bring to life that anthem of the Hyuuga. :D This is the song in the language of Tokelauan:**

_**Ou mata e matagi**_

_**Ou loto mamaina toa**_

_**Manatu atu**_

_**Taku pelepele**_

_**Pa mai to mafanafanaga**_

_**Saolotoga tenei**_

_**Manatunatu**_

_**Ki tamafine**_

_**Maua ai te lumanai**_

_**Ki tamafine**_

_**Ou mata e matagi**_

**English translation: **

_**Your eyes so full of wonder**_

_**Your heart, an innocent warrior**_

_**My dearest one**_

_**There's a task for you**_

_**Let it flow over you**_

_**The freedom you feel**_

_**And your deep thoughts**_

_**Our young girl**_

_**Have you come**_

_**Our young girl**_

_**Your eyes so full of wonder**_

**Up next: the group meets the ones who may be guarding the cauldron...**


	8. The Witches of Kusa

**Turns out I realized something from the past: Kusa in past stories was spelled with an "O" at the end, lol. XD My God, stupid me for never realizing that error until now. Well, here it's corrected. **

**Someday I'll fix the mistake in past tales, maybe not. Minor issues like that aren't minded, I don't think. No one's complained yet. **

**Anyhoo, I remember when I rewatched the movie Black Cauldron, and the place where the cauldron is hidden (Morva), and it made me think of one of those classic voodoo huts where witches reside, especially in the movies which misunderstand the Caribbean/West African religion. **

**Fun fact: not to encourage anyone to practice it, but voodoo isn't evil as many think it is, except it doesn't mean you should dabble in it so lightly. Basically, the people are unified under it, sing and dance, enjoy food and drink, and if you believe in these things, one of the gods comes down to speak through one of the people. **

**I've written a couple fics in the past which includes voodoo as a major plot point: "I Walked With a Zombie" and "Zombie Brother". Both in Naruto-verse. :D**

Chapter Eight

The Witches of Kusa

_Welcome to Kusa. _

This place was where the Dragon Cauldron was safely guarded - but their work had just gotten more challenging. On the surface, it was too easy with her eyes to grasp. She didn't detect any signs of something strong and powerful, which meant sophisticated charms did the trick of hiding it well. She was impressed.

Though the sight made Naruto gulp, forcing himself on as he and Hinata took the longer if safer way down the cliff, gliding past the rocks and over the slick earth, taking extra care to not fall and join their companions who got up at the same time. "I'll be damned; this place gives me the creeps," Naruto said, wrapping his arms around himself before straightening.

What they were gifted with were the many doll-heads - stitched from cloth and sewn with bones, beads and patchworks of exotic fabric - as well as human skulls, all on tall wooden sticks which stabbed the soil. _Likely warning signs. I don't detect true power to affect "trespassers". Maybe that's all they are: to scare people away. _She scoffed. _Well, they won't scare me that easily. _

The cottage itself was built into a large, gnarled tree no different than any of the others the group passed on the way. The atmosphere made the flesh creep and the blood freeze. Despite its apparently abandoned apparel, those witches HAD to be here somewhere, or were simply out and about. If so, they could wait here and be polite, but they had to not waste time waiting. That was Kakashi's suggestion.

Kurama jumped up onto the window which had a wooden gate to prevent them from getting in as intruders, but not enough to keep insects and smaller animals out - except a fox was too big to fit through any of those holes. "I really do not like the feeling of this place," he huffed.

That didn't stop them from going in, which took the effort of Naruto and Kakashi combined - and the force of their shoulder pushing had them inside in no time. What they saw was no better than the outside, and it made Hinata cough with the boys. All three of them waved the dust away until it settled. Kurama did the honors of closing the creaking door, since the sunlight outside the windows poured in to let them examine their grim, lifeless surroundings. _Cobwebs covering the tables and furniture. Old dishes scattered here and there, the rest put away. Untouched jars of various living parts, skull heads and potions. It looks like no one lives here, after all..._

_How will we ever find the Dragon Cauldron in a place like THIS?_

Suddenly, it seemed the feeling was increasing up her spine. This called for the Byakugan to return, and when she did it, Hinata sharply gasped when she saw the hundred or so pairs of _eyes_ which were behind the door beyond them that Kurama also went up to and opened - and this warranted shrieks from her when she told the boys what they were.

_"FROGS!"_

All of them were slick and green, croaking loudly while hopping like mad and out the door which Kakashi hurriedly opened and ducked behind, more out of the need to not have anything from the swamp touch his self. He cringed in the eye and shuddered audibly as he slammed the door shut again. "Damn it, and I hated frogs as a boy."

"Seriously? I've seen this all before," Kurama told him, folding his frontal legs before his body as he sat on his hinds. "I'm telling you that those amphibians were once _humans _like yourselves."

_Oh, how cruel!_ Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Naruto echoed her thoughts.

"They were turned into _frogs?_ What for?!"

The answer was plainly obvious: _for food._ It was enough to make her own stomach churn. Her eyes quickly shifted to the door the fox opened, seeing what was behind it and uttering an exclamation - at the _decades-number of _cauldrons_. _There were thirty-four in counting, and it made her wonder how on earth anyone would need so many!

She jumped and found herself bumping into Naruto, who also whirled around and ended up holding her at the waist - the action made her blush madly hot in her cheeks - and Kakashi held up the blade end of his pole, Kurama on all fours and snarling like a guard dog before them. The voices pierced the air, but the owners could not be seen at first.

_"THIEVES! Someone stole our frogs!"_

~o~

Blue lightning and puffs of gray smoke - and THEY appeared before all four.

All three were dressed in blue-gray rags, but different forms and all had their own unique appearances. And despite their lovely as hell appearances, their eyes each spoke bloodthirsty murder at the intruders in their tree house - and were viciously furious at the missing frogs which were supposed to be their MEAL.

_The witches of Kusa...the ones protecting the cauldron. But there are so many of them that we don't even know which one is the Dragon - _

"You...evil...nasty...PEOPLE!"

The one who spoke had eyes brown as the forests, though they displayed such ruthless resolute. Her long hair was straight and purple, maybe reaching her waist, and her lips - they were RED. Her blue gown was without sleeves, baring her arms and partially the chest, though remarkably held in place. Around her neck was a pewter pendant crafted into an owl against tree branches, and the black stone within appeared to be onyx - to represent wisdom and clear all sense of bad energy, which he thought was ironic since these women were clearly outcasts, so why...?

The purple-haired one was the leader, and she took to intimidating every single one of them, but now Kurama hid behind Naruto, though it didn't seem the witches were interested in him unless he posed a serious threat. "You," the amethyst-haired witch seethed, ruby lips pulling back, "should all be turned into frogs and eaten in place of the ones you let escape!"

Hinata lifted her chin, showing she wasn't afraid. "Well, you will have to forgive us. We didn't know what they were for." She jerked her head to her right when a second witch materialized beside her. This one was black-haired, the locks tinted with violet and fashioned in a short, spiky tail, and her eyes were also brown if lighter and perhaps filled with an extra dose of venom like a snake. She was the tomboy of the trio, given the blue rags were fashioned like a kimono and covered more of her frame, and around her neck was a _raven's skull_ on black cord, making Naruto cringe. He flinched when the woman reached and took Hinata's fair, bare arm into her spidery hold, firmly pinching the skin between her forefinger and thumb.

"Yes, Sister Yuugao! This is so nice and tender I could eat her as she is now!" She appeared to have a thirst for blood more than the other two with this declaration, as well as the fact two of her teeth extended into _snake_ fangs, but she never got her chance to meet the target, because Hinata jerked her arm back and struck the woman's face so hard it caused those teeth to rattle and threaten to fall out of its owner's jaws.

"Stop that!" Hinata spat. "You're so vile and disgusting." This made the fanged witch hiss at her before Naruto acted fast and stepped between them. Kakashi joined, all the while trying to smooth talk their way out of here.

"Yes, well, it was all nice to meet you ladies, but if you don't mind -"

He was cut off when the third witch made her move, and it would have been called priceless if this were a comedic, normal circumstance. Naruto confessed she was the most..._beautiful _and obviously seductive of the trio. Her fiery auburn hair reached her ankles, and that dress was blue like her "sisters'", one-shouldered like Hinata's and finished with a wild necklace crafted brilliantly into a dragon which carried a blue-green gem shaped like a heart. Her eyes were flashing green like jewels, but the real attention was diverted to the plump curves which was where old man Jiraiya would no doubt bleed to the nose if he saw this.

And the way she looked at Kakashi spoke all the volumes it needed. Naruto gulped and stuck with Hinata, unsure of what to do, since they were surrounded by three powerful women - and one of them was making advances on poor Kakashi who had years of experience as a soldier on the battlefield, but women was another story.

"My...aren't you the _handsome _man?" the redhead purred huskily, rubbing her body shamelessly against his, without a care in the world, and Naruto had to refrain from groaning at this show. Even Kurama grunted and put his paws over his eyes as he loathed displays like this.

Kakashi sputtered as he fought to fend off the female attempting to seduce him in front of his friends and her sisters. "M-m-me?! Lady, you have no idea who you're -!"

But she didn't seem to give a damn in the slightest, and she took it a step further by turning her body around so that her back massaged against him, and her arm bent at the elbow to run her hand through her hair. "Do you find me...irresistible? I've never known such fine men in my life." She tilted her head upwards and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

_Oh...you a heartbroken thing, huh? I almost feel sorry for you. Guess that must mean you are mistreated because of your abilities and who your sisters are. _

The twinge within did feel a little painful for him to know that there was a chance these women were misunderstood beneath the rumors told about them, and what was seen around them. Even they had to survive life.

Eventually, he and Hinata - as well as the grimacing Kurama and genuinely humiliated Kakashi - learned the names of the other two witches. Their leader with the purple hair was Yuugao, while the one who tried to bite Hinata was Anko, and the sultry one smothering Kakashi was called Mei.

Anko huffed and waved a finger. "Oh, bah! Enough of that lovesick nonsense, Sister Mei!"

What happened he and Hinata should have seen coming, for she cried out Kakashi's name as the blue light and smoke surrounded him...and then it cleared to show a _small green frog_ hopping about where he stood. Naruto yelped, Hinata gasped, and Kurama snarled.

Kakashi had been turned into a FROG!

~o~

_Oh, no, Kakashi!_

She pulled out her bow and arrow as the attention was focused on the witch who was called Anko - the one who was going to bite Hinata's own arm after noticing how "tender" it was - and was chasing after the poor frog which found itself hopping unexpectedly into the partially exposed bosom of the redhead who panicked and feared for his safety, as well as made vocally clear her lack of forgiveness towards her sister who was spoiling her newfound happiness.

Except, Hinata doubted it was true love. The manner her father described came in different forms, while this one happened to be an at first sight infatuation, turning into an obsession which would eventually destroy everything. _Father said love builds based on _trust _and _understanding_. Physical attraction is contributing, but it's not everything. That's also what I am seeing here. _

The frog slipped out of Mei's curves and back into the open, and the overjoyed woman put her hand to her lips before blowing a kiss, and the crystalline sparkles were making way towards the amphibian, but they never reached the target, for another heavier amount surrounded the tormented animal.

A cauldron of black materialized, filled with diabolically bubbling liquid which had to be water, and the fear amplified a hundredfold. "FROG SOUP FOR ALL!" Anko crowed, waving her fingers to form a wooden spoon which scooped up the frog who barely even touched the smoldering waters, and this was when Hinata activated her eyes and aimed her arrow towards that spoon, shouting at Kurama to leap into action and save Kakashi the frog.

"ALL OF YOU, TURN HIM BACK!"

By this time, Kurama had the frog between his jaws, though not biting in as he knew the slimy creature was really a human being he'd dealt with - and he had to let the creature go as he couldn't take anymore of the taste, ending up gagging and choking up what was in his taste buds, cursing wordlessly. The frog croaked in protest and hopped away.

Yuugao the purple-head stared first at the little green one, rolling her eyes first at her gushing red-haired sister and scolding the other who turned Kakashi - "you should control your hunger more, Sister Anko!" - before flicking out her forefinger which did the trick Mei would have.

Kakashi was back to his old self, though crouched on all fours like the animal he'd been moments ago. Scowling, he stood back up, wincing as he straightened his bones, then hurried to join his friends. _Thank the gods you are well again!_ Now Hinata could do what she wanted without shame. She flashed her strained eyes to the three witches and aimed her weapon again, this time firing and missing Anko by a hair. That would teach her out of the others!

The witch shrieked and turned her livid gaze onto Hinata. "What the devil was that for, princess?! Your friend is human again!"

"And it was for almost eating him, and trying to bite me!" Hinata countered heatedly. "Now, shut up and listen: we are here for the Dragon Cauldron. My father and several others hid it here a long time ago."

~o~

Each pair of eyes - one on each woman - bulged at the mention of the demonic thing linked to the Serpent King. The man responsible for all their losses, especially those in Naruto's lives.

"You're here for..." Mei sputtered before recovering and giving something akin to stoic. "No one has seen or asked for the Dragon Cauldron for decades. Who are you to ask?" She narrowed her eyes.

Naruto finally reached for his sword and pulled it out, flashing the pure silver blade hilted with fiery gold and glinting with every jewel known to mankind. This caused the witches to hiss and slink into each other. "I am the son of two people who died because of the Serpent King. That thing is the cause of all our troubles, and we are the only ones who can finish it."

"Yes, we didn't come all the way out here for nothing," Kakashi added, narrowing the iris. "And I didn't come here to be turned into a frog and _eaten_ \- or to be smothered with 'undying love' in dire times." This seemed to break Mei's heart, for her face fell, but neither of her sisters would comfort her.

Yuugao nodded to all of their words, though that glint in her eyes spoke of a different story. That told Naruto she had something up her sleeve, and Kurama leaped onto his shoulders to whisper it into his ear.

"Rather, my boy, could I at least interest you in something else? Any of these other cauldrons we have, or any pots and kettles...?"

Said items were floating around the room, and this ticked Naruto off to an extent. _No way in hell am I interested in any of this!_ They didn't come here for this, he said! He opened his mouth to say so, but then his hands felt weaker than the sword's hilt in hand which seemed to gain a life of its own. He saw it happen in a heartbeat, and not only did it stun Hinata and the human-again Kakashi as well as Kurama, but also the witches.

The sword flashed gold all over and danced in the air as it slashed through the ancient pottery from the average cauldrons to the pots and kettles. Everything ended up in a heap of shattered matter in the middle of the room.

"I'll say..." Yuugao breathed, blinking, before she turned to her sisters and began to whisper to them, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"I'll say," Kurama repeated, scowling. "I know what they are planning. They're going to want your sword, Naruto." He spoke low for them to not hear, but for him, Kakashi and Hinata. "That's what they do: they give one thing in favor of something else. You think this could come for _free_?"

Yuugao's voice got their attention again. "It's decided. We'll allow you to have the Dragon Cauldron."

Did you see him or his friends blink?

_This is...too easy. Kurama may be right, but it could also be that this one was talking to her sisters about just handing it over to us. _"You mean," Hinata said, lowering her bow and arrow, and Naruto put the sword back to his belt, "you're honestly going to just GIVE it to us?"

Unfortunately, it had indeed been too good to be true. "That is not what we said, princess," Yuugao said icily. "You may be Hiashi's daughter -" _So she _does_ recognize her. _"- but it doesn't mean we will comply without payment. You weren't listening. I said we would let you _have _it, but we don't just give anything away." A smile tugged one corner of her mouth.

"What we do is _bargain _and _trade_. You must give us something you have if you want the thing which Orochimaru has long searched for."

Those cunning woodland eyes rested on one thing in particular, which told Naruto exactly what she was implying, but he sniffed and turned that side of his body into the other direction as his means of protection. They would have anything else, but NOT his sword. His friends knew his dilemma, and they ended up stepping in for him, offering their own possessions.

"Then accept my pole-arm. I'm a capable soldier, but there are many ways to fight than just with a weapon alone. Plus, this one here is my new superior." Kakashi winked at him.

Hinata exhaled sharply and lowered her crossbow so that she'd reach for the arm band which graced her delicate arm. "Or take this valuable jewel. It was an heirloom from my mother." Why would she give away something as precious as her late mother's gem just for -?!

Kurama growled, announcing he had nothing in particular, but wasn't shy - as always - in voicing his opinions. "You are all wasting your time. Giving away something close to your hearts just to save the world. I told you what these witches are capable of." He didn't flinch when Anko the fanged knelt down and bared her whites at him.

"You want to be the one to go into the soup, fox?"

Naruto could take no more of this, finally deciding that if this sacrifice would be worth it - painful to his heart, too - at the cost of the entire world, then he would do it. They would figure out how to destroy the cauldron afterwards, because where there was a will, there was a way.

He held out the sword which had saved their skins more times than he could count, never mind Lord Hiashi strictly saying he had to keep it on him at all times. Yuugao's eyes flashed, but Hinata's shimmered with her protests, almost on the verge of tears. "Naruto!"

"No, Hinata," he said, turning to look into her agonized irises. "I don't want to do this any more than either of you, but it's our only chance to save our peoples."

"But my father -!" she protested only for Kakashi to quiet her with his hand on her shoulder.

"He's right. This is a major sacrifice, so I hope it's worth it as much as you. Anything to avenge our friends and loved ones, and so on." Redheaded Mei continued to look at him with such adoration towards his seasoned wisdom and courage, though he fought to not make eye contact with her.

Naruto held his breath, his heart hammering if numb to his awareness, as he held out the one thing which amplified his strength and gave him every reason to feel proud of himself. "Then take my sword if you want it that badly," he said bitterly. "I would have been the greatest warrior that my father and others like him were, but all I want is for everything to end and return to peace."

Everyone, even old man Jiraiya, said the eyes were the windows to the soul, and he saw the cunning in those eyes. Yuugao raised both hands while Anko's tongue licked her lips and Mei watched with controlled enthusiasm unlike before...

...and all three witches vanished in tornadoes of blue, taking the sword with them.

Naruto's hands - and his whole being as well as his heart - had never felt so empty in his life. This was worse than the days of his youth spent dreaming of reaching the point he had been so close to. He could imagine Pervy Sage telling him he'd told him so, or something related. _And Ma and Pa are no doubt..._

His line of thought was interrupted when the cottage in this tree began to shake, and the furniture as well as the cooking items previously offered lifted and floated around them like a tornado, picking up speed. "LOOK OUT!" Kakashi bellowed, dropping down and bringing Hinata with him. Kurama leaped towards them and into Naruto's arms, all of them crouching together as the swirling atmosphere prevented them from making headway for the door. The ground was now trembling, reminiscent of an earthquake.

_What the HELL is happening?! Have they tricked us or -?!_

It wasn't long before everything began to disappear above their heads, going off into the distance, and leaving them out in the opened country, but the shaking continued.

Hinata had time now to activate her Byakugan to try and see what was going on, but it wasn't a natural ground shake. Beyond, an even more desolate part of the scape, complete with slimy dead trees that lost their solid ground, was rising like a hilltop before cracking apart to release first smoke and fire before exposing what had rested beneath the ground for a long time.

It was black...black as the darkest night and heavy with fiery rage and power. The fires died down so that all was calm again. Kurama's tail perked up as he peeked out from behind an overwhelmed Kakashi. Hinata pushed behind her hair which blew into her face as she examined the thing with her still-pulsing eyes.

And Naruto - he could only hiss out the name.

"The Dragon Cauldron!"

**And now the thing they searched long and hard for was presented, and at a great cost (great as far as Naruto is concerned). :O Review and wait for the next. **


	9. The Dragon Cauldron Unleashed

**One more chapter or two after this one left. :D I appreciate the love this story is getting, and please continue to R and R!**

**A fair warning: I said at the beginning that this story was rated for some language and frightening images, and since there are those of you who know the movie and the books, then I dare you to read with the lights off, or proceed with caution. (cold sweat)**

Chapter Nine

The Dragon Cauldron Unleashed

_It's...the Dragon Cauldron._

That thing was the essence of a true devil in not only its aura and name, but its appearance and craftsmanship.

It stood on three legs which were ending with realistic dragon claws, and the body of the cauldron was carved with never-ending swirls, symbolizing eternity. In the center of them all was a circular crest which bestowed three tomoe joined as one. As for its texture and surface, it was apparently made of iron, which was common for alchemists among other things. But instead of the magnificent glinting mirror-like silvery gray of perfection, it was rusted with age and was now black and rusted brown in places. Flakes floated in the air.

"I'll be damned to hell," Kakashi rasped, taking the first step forward. "It's everything I thought it would be. But how do we...?"

How do they destroy it? That was a damned good question. The only issue was that they'd come to find it, rid themselves of this nightmarish hell, because they never thought that far ahead...and then they heard the sly cackling above. The group jerked their heads up and saw the three witches above, though not part of the earth like they were.

They were part of the gathering of clouds, oversized like gods - or goddesses, in their case - above the mortals.

_"Well, now that you have it, what will you do now to destroy it?" _Yuugao asked with a malicious twinkle in her eyes. _"The Dragon Cauldron is said to be _indestructible._ Surely you must be aware of that even before you struck the bargain?"_

Angrily, Naruto refused to believe that. There was no such thing as "indestructible"; everything had a weak point. "That's not true. There is always a way to -"

Anko cut him off with that shrill cackle of hers, and she was silenced by her purple-haired sister who snarled at her to pipe down until she was done talking. _"You're even more of a fool than before, boy. You think you can try your luck and waste more time before you hear what I have to say? The cauldron cannot be destroyed physically...but only its evil powers can be stopped,"_ she said, the glint gone now so that there was nothing but a clear iris. No mist, either.

_It can't be destroyed physically...only its powers..._she said just that. She said that there was a way, but not to destroy the cauldron entirely, because this iron was nothing of the world. Orochimaru did a brilliant job of seeing to that. Hinata turned to look at the dark item, eyes still activated, and examine it. She flinched at whatever it was she was seeing. "Its aura...the matter...it's so frightening. It will take a miracle..." She looked up at the witches, asking them the question of "how"?

Yuugao answered perhaps all too easily. _"A dead being must be placed in, thus a sacrifice beforehand, unlike the other way around: a living body would be dropped in to die in order to give the cauldron its life."_

In that instant, their shared world collided without coming into contact with another.

_Someone has to get into the cauldron and die for it to work, but a dead body has to be placed in to destroy its powers. _

That meant they really HAD come a long way for nothing. There was no way they could find a willing - or unwilling, like one of Orochimaru's undeserving men - victim to do the trick, killing themselves first or dying by one of their hands. But wait...

"That means...that's what Orochimaru wanted me for," Hinata said harshly, narrowing her eyes. "A living sacrifice to give life to the cauldron...and a dead person to end its life." She jerked her head up to the witches. "And you said we could have it, but why did it have to come at such a high price?!"

"Yes, we had a bargain," Kakashi angrily reminded them, earning a wicked cackle from Anko.

_"Of course, we did say you could have it, but it's not OUR fault you can't do anything about it!"_

Naruto was more than ready to say that there had to be another way - except he knew there was nothing else, and he loathed their position now - but the witches were leaving now, vanishing into the storm clouds of lightning and thunder, calling back to them one last time:

_"Remember: we ALWAYS keep a bargain."_

~o~

They pitched camp that night, unsure of what to do now that they had no real direction despite the Dragon Cauldron being before them. Still sitting on its hilltop, untouched.

And here they were, sitting before a fire which they made together.

Naruto was the one who was prodding the fire with a look of grief on his face, understandably so. Kurama lay at his feet, curled up and looking around while at a loss for words, for once.

Kakashi was grim and tight-faced, probably brooding on how bleak things were, and no doubt wondering if his life of serving his land and his people had really come to this...

...but Hinata wasn't having any of this. Not when she herself had been abducted from home - _to find that accursed thing and nearly become a lamb to offer to the false god _\- and then got these wonderful men in the process. So what that they were trying to save the world? And so what that things were worse instead of better? There was going to be a way to get a sacrifice for the cauldron, kill it and then save the world...but to think this way made her ill to her stomach. She'd heard of her own mother taking her own life, her father accidentally killing his own brother over a trickery...

"...feeding pigs is all I've been good at," Naruto finally said bitterly. "All I did was let you all down." He threw the stick down to the side and kicked at the dirt, like a child when things didn't go his way. This made Kakashi raise an eyebrow and Kurama jerk to all four feet.

"I've made small mistakes at home, but here, I've really done it: one mess after the other. Without my sword, I'm _nothing!_ I can't even protect these lands, myself or...any of you."

This pity party made her snap, but releasing her agitation wouldn't work. So, kindness and understanding was going to boost if by a small miracle. She took his face in both of her hands, forcing him to look at her, watched from across the small fire by Kakashi and by Kurama who moved to watch with the soldier. "Naruto, that's not true. No one is perfect even if we desperately try," Hinata said passionately. "Even my family isn't, though we appear to be. I _believed _in you from the moment I met you even when you didn't appear to be much; you ARE someone with or without that sword. You heard my father and dear Kakashi -" She genuinely meant the word, and it might have made him blush a little at such a praise. "- when they said a real warrior has a heart stronger than any weapon he uses."

His eyes were shining as if touched by her words. Even more when the fox grunted and swished his tail without reason.

"You heard her, brat. And before, I thought you were an ambitious runt despite protecting that little sow of yours, but I was wrong. I couldn't hate you forever for trespassing, especially when you fed me like no one else." _So, in other words, he didn't hate Naruto as much as he let on. It was a _tsundere _thing all along, and almost laughable. Hostile only to spend more time with him and warm up. _

"You guys are all my true friends...and I'm grateful to have you here," Naruto finally croaked, standing up then, and he took both of her hands into his, stunning Hinata. She never thought that she'd see the day someone like him would make her feel this way, to connect with her and endure so much...if they ever made it out alive...

She waited for him to say something else when he looked at her, jaw opened for a few seconds - but he didn't say what she thought he would, instead settling on this, in case it was the wrong time: "Hinata, you're kind and have so much faith even when everything has taken a dead end. You're strong that way, just like with that crossbow and your eyes."

_Oh...is this how it feels...?_

Hinata was referring to how her heart was beating, but it was intruded when they heard those terrible ROARS overhead, and their heads jerked up to see the two serpentine dragons flying. They had been _found!_

~o~

It was one fine way to end the world. They had the cauldron, only to not do anything with it...and here they were now.

Should they have gone out regardless after getting it? Perhaps, but their hesitancy to take someone's life was a stunt...

They were all still together, except Kurama who had run off like he did the time Naruto chased after Tonton before those dragons took her. Only before those men and the dragons swooped in, he called to the group that he was going to hide and then follow them, with a plan he had no time to explain.

He was still guilty of not having his sword, but it wasn't like he could predict the future himself, and it wasn't like Hinata had that ability other than seeing everything in a circle. _A circle...which means failure has really come full circle. Just when things were beginning to look up and we had acknowledged that we would finally figure out what to do..._

_...but look at us now: taken down to the lower levels - and we see hundreds of skeletons of soldiers, behind those two doors where we didn't know what was hidden - and we're chained up by the wrists and forced to watch as the cauldron is brought in._

The Dragon Cauldron was placed on the highest pedestal of stairs. Kabuto the rat was standing beside it, snapping at the fools who dragged it with straining efforts to get the cart out of here, before clearing his throat and turning his attention to the trio who were farther above, on a small wooden bridge and away from the sea of dead soldiers, and putting both hands behind his back.

"Excuse me for ignoring you. You did come for the cauldron, didn't you? You thought to destroy its powers if you couldn't hack it up yourselves."

He turned to look into the depths of the icon of pure evil willpower, momentarily wincing as he thought about what to do in order to get this thing working on the dead ones littered across the grounds below the pedestal...and that was when all attention was directed to the beyond, where the platform was connected to an archway which displayed a shadowy figure coming into eyesight. Kabuto swallowed and bowed his head at the appearance of his master.

There stood Orochimaru himself, and his eyes flashed when he saw the trio of captives, lips pulling back in a tight smirk. His voice slithered like silk, only to tighten like a noose.

"My...such a brave band of oddities: a pig boy, a fair maiden, and a disgraced soldier of my enemies."

_You...bastard. You dare speak like that of people you once called - _"Who were once your comrades and even your loved ones, you snake!" And the man knew exactly who he spoke of, for Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

"None of which matters to me anymore, dear Naruto...now that I finally have what I spent a lifetime of searching. And all those who were sacrificed will not be in vain when I finally finish what I started." Hinata and Kakashi were glaring murder at his words with Naruto, who bared his teeth as he growled. The snake man's attention flickered to the girl he had once captured for a living offering, smirk fading. "It's a shame that you cannot be used this time, but it's hardly important. At least you shall watch the show with your friends."

"Monster," Hinata hissed back.

"You captured someone else instead while you were hunting us, didn't you?" Kakashi added, and Orochimaru chuckled.

"No time had to be wasted any more than it has been, but yes. And it gives me great joy that you have finished for me so that we all shall see what fate has in store." He walked over in two, slow but swift strides and stood behind the cauldron, resting both hands on the rim and peering into its core. His eyes seemed to darken as his lips were slurped by that loathsome tongue. "Constructed from the purest steel I could find from the earth - and other secrets best kept to myself, but blood is one I shall reveal - only for the years of nonuse and the earthly elements to take its toll," Orochimaru murmured, face deepening before brightening up again. That was when he stood back and waved his hands, then produced a glittering purple puff of smoke - and there it revealed a live, bound captive who was also gagged.

"To give life in exchange for this one: one of my own lackeys who has been useless...but now he shall prove useful. Given you three are no longer befitting to be candidates now that the arrangements are in place." He raised the whimpering man whose eyes were wide with the purest of terror at knowing his final fate. "I now call upon my army of the dead: the _Cauldron Born."_

The victim could only scream through his gag and not wail words, for no one would - or COULD - come to his aid. He was put all the way into the cauldron, and Orochimaru threw his hands into the air once more, shouting at the top of his lungs that spittle leaked from one corner of his mouth.

_"ARISE, MY MESSENGERS OF DEATH: OUR TIME HAS ARRIVED!"_

~o~

_Oh...it's _horrible!

The word was an extreme understatement at its finest.

First, the Serpent King put his sacrificial lamb into the cauldron, then bellowed his incantation...only for blood to begin leaking out from the thing, and within was heard the muffled cries and thrashing, but you couldn't see the face of the sufferer at all. The cauldron's claws were opening and closing even as one single drop of the red liquid landed atop one of the "feet".

Hinata wanted to close her eyes and turn away, but physically couldn't. Her heart was cold with terror as her blood froze. She could still hear the mention of blood used in creating this monstrous tool, and wondered if any friends and that woman the snake had loved were part of it...

Blue light was now glowing as Orochimaru weaved some hand signs, then threw those appendages into the air again, followed by a glowing yellow beam which shot north and hit nowhere in particular - from inside, the man's screams could be heard - before reverting to demonic red and gold, the howls subsiding just as the human face formed within the light, before turning into a skull which symbolized death, and returning back into the cauldron.

But then the most repulsive thing happened just as the cauldron was coming to life: all lights faded, and a sickening green and purple mist crawled out, leaking down the platform and stairs to float over the mass of soldier skeletons from these despairing lands and that of the flourishing Konoha.

"I've said this many times: I'm sure many of them are our own...some even my friends," Kakashi said to them, bowing his head and closing his eye. He couldn't bear looking anymore, which she wanted to very much.

In the meantime, where in heaven's name was _Kurama?_

He'd run off, saying he was hiding because of a plan, not telling them _what,_ but she knew there was no time to explain as those men and those dragons reached far too fast. Their weapons were taken easily, and she was sure she'd seen it in Naruto's eyes as he wished more than ever that his sword was there to help them - or those blasted witches. She cursed all three of them to herself. Why did her father, Naruto's parents and his guardian Jiraiya even bother to ENTRUST the cauldron with those horrible women?!

_Maybe he's coming in at this moment, but through the lowermost levels where there are rats...the dungeon's moat. Yes, he must be. I would use my eyes, but Orochimaru will no doubt catch on. _

Some green smoke was touching Orochimaru, bringing out the effects so that they'd appear on the inflicted, if not to harm. What she and her boys were witnessing was the stuff of nightmares. _Horns growing from the mane of midnight hair...scales penetrating the face and making him more reptilian than man...the jaw and nose extended to become more defined and animalistic...and claws for hands._

Orochimaru was becoming the Dragon Emperor, first appearing as such. And he was relishing it as he brought his hands before himself, completely ignoring his anxious rat boy and stand-by soldiers who had their axes, swords and pole-arms raised. All bore fascination and fright.

It wasn't long before one of them, with a cocky leer, reached out with his pole-arm, causing some lightning to form as a test to see if this ancient dark magic was really working...and he truly underestimated the powers of the dragon, of life and death. What he did was the most fatal mistake ever made.

Screams were heard throughout as three skeletons came to life, bursting from that place and baring their bony teeth. To see that and those soulless black eyes, no bits of flesh or sinew remaining, dripping with slime and some blood, was enough to haunt your dreams for a long time to come. _And one of them is from Konoha, the other two from here in Oto...one enemy wreaking vengeance and the other two having no free will against their own comrades..._ And it was evident with what they did to the soldier who prodded at the source of their life-giving energy, along with two others nearby.

She had to at last jerk her head away at what she partially saw but knew was happening, the last one prolonging more than the other two so that the final moments were agonizing: one man was sliced in half by a great sword, down the middle of his body, beginning from the top of his head. Another was decapitated in a single, clean blow.

And Naruto forcing himself to mention the final was the reason she thought all of this horrid: "Melting down to the bone -" _Seeing nothing but rot and slime, exposing the skeleton beneath. _"- oh, gods."

"- my beloved warriors have come to life. In centuries' past, no one has ever created an army like _this_. Now...go forth, my deathless warriors and destroy all in your path."

Since their services were clearly no longer required, as well as fearful for their own lives like their three butchered comrades, Orochimaru's living men fled, some dropping their weapons and scampering like scared animals while the rest clutched onto theirs with some ounce of bravery left in them.

_I never...thought it would end like this. _Hinata kept her eyes shut as she could no longer look at the walking skeletons in their tattered clothes which revealed every contour of their bones, carrying their weapons with great strength and limping on, rattling and sometimes jerking. Their foul smell made her want to vomit. Her ears heard Kabuto urging his master to go with him so that they could have a view from above...

"Better to die honorably, I suppose now, than to live and see this," Kakashi grumbled, bowing his head in defeat.

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing, and neither could Naruto. This man faced imprisonment here in these walls, and so had they, but they were all back here for what appeared to be the final time - where the hell was _Kurama?!_

She chose now to turn the Byakugan on, and that was when she caught sight of what she knew had been coming all along. It seemed hope wasn't lost, but it was far from over.

**Iron on Wiki: "Pristine and smooth pure iron surfaces are mirror-like silvery-gray. However, iron reacts readily with oxygen and water to give brown to black hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust. Unlike the oxides of some other metals, that form passivating layers, rust occupies more volume than the metal and thus flakes off, exposing fresh surfaces for corrosion."**

**Definition of tsundere: a Japanese term in which a person begins cold and even hostile but gradually warms up and becomes friendlier. **

**I hope you weren't too frightened by the undead warriors coming to life, or what happened to those three men. As to that, the one melting down to the bone was inspired by a deleted scene of the movie, but it was cut out because it was too graphic for a Disney animated movie. **


	10. Sacrifices Given and Taken

**Originally, this was going to be the final chapter, but I noticed how long it was compared to the others, so I cut it in half. The final will be later or tomorrow at most. **

**MAJOR WARNING: the death of a beloved character. And therefore, suicide mention is in effect for sensitive readers. **

Chapter Ten

Sacrifices Given and Taken

Never did he see anything like this in his life. This was what Pervy Sage warned him about before he left with Tonton.

The old man had been right about the user becoming the Dragon Emperor, and that nothing and _no one _would stand against them when they got the power; the results were seen as he, Kakashi and Hinata observed the transformation. _More dragon than human now. _

There was no telling what this monster-man was capable of now besides raising the dead, even taking others' lives personally, but he didn't want to think about it. Kakashi talking about dying with honor was making him start to take that road to agreeing, making him think about how they never planned it to end this way, fought to avoid it...

_I'm back to saying this: I'm so sorry, Pervy Sage. But at least Tonton is safe with you...except I don't know how much longer that will be. Will you even manage against these bags of bones?_

Hinata's gasp interrupted his deep thinking. He looked at her only to see the veins outside her eyes - _the Byakugan. _He glanced in the other direction she was gazing upon, wondering what she had found. "What is it?"

"...Kurama is here."

Now he gasped. Kakashi followed him, echoing, "That fox finally shows up?"

"You took the words out of my mouth," Naruto grumbled, wishing he had her gift to see himself, but he believed her and could hardly believe it. He didn't even think that beast would finally catch up, and at a too-late timing. But since he did, that meant he was going to slip in and help them escape! And it was also perfect timing since Orochimaru and Kabuto were gone to upper levels.

"The mist made its way down here; the soldiers had gone upstairs by then, breaking that door to take a shortcut, and the rest going frontward to the main bridge. Kurama was going there and had run into them before -"

_Before running for his life when he saw the living skeletons...and here he is now. Damn, he sounds like he's going to have a heart attack, not that I blame him. _There the fox was, his red-orange silhouette seen through the windows with the bars. Bars which were large enough for his smaller body to slip through to them! "You're finally here; I'll be damned!" Naruto told him happily, regardless of the doom and gloom hour.

"I told you all I would be here, but regrettably, I came too late," Kurama grumbled, taking a few shallow breaths. "I thought I would be the first to go on their list of kill!"

"You missed the show," Kakashi told him. "They killed three men already without trying too hard. I'd rather not repeat what I just saw."

"Me, too," Hinata said, the veins around her eyes relaxing until they vanished from sight.

"Well, in that case, I'm relieved to not have seen such a sight. But here I am now." With that, Kurama got to working on untying them from their places, his powerful claws and jaws tearing and pulling at the same time. Naruto was the first to be released.

_If you were captured with us, no one would free us. I get it now. _

He rubbed his wrists which burned a little from the hemp rope. Now he found himself looking up and glaring at the powerful cauldron which gave life to the dead and granted all unlimited forbidden power. There was only one way to stop it, and in the heat of the moment, he knew what to do. He didn't want anyone else to do this. He didn't want to live and let his home be destroyed, the people in it to suffer when they had nothing to do with this...or his friends...

This was his fault, regardless of what Hinata - kind and gentle Hinata - assured him: he was so naïve and stupid, he wanted to be a great warrior and thought he could bring down Orochimaru and all he stood for. He traded his sword he found all for the cauldron. Stopping its usage came at a great price that none of them saw coming.

Naruto looked around until he saw a way to get to the accursed cauldron which continued to pour green mist in every direction. There was no telling how much farther the skeletal army had gotten across the bridge and in other directions, so he had to hurry. His heart was thudding so hard he had to get this over with, or else he would have second thoughts.

At last, he saw the answer: barren but strong vines crawling up the wall near them and carrying up towards a stone bridge which had led across the area to the next floor level, long since broken in half and neglected...and it was right above the cauldron. That meant he would get up there and jump off, right into -

"Hinata, Kakashi, you go on ahead with Kurama." He started towards the vines on the wall. "I'm going to stop the cauldron myself."

He needed something to bring to his own throat, or maybe his heart, and then he saw a very sharp rock that just had to be up there. This place was so old that anything could come in handy. He could perhaps puncture his own throat if it would work. _A dead body is required to take the cauldron's life..._

"NARUTO!" Hinata screamed, being held by Kakashi who objected as much as she did, but he knew why Naruto was doing this, though had no idea whether to support his decision or say something like her. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Her eyes were shining with tears she was struggling to keep back.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but I have to. My mind is made up. I'm doing this for all of you..."

_On the other side, I may see Ma and Pa, and old lady Tsunade. They might congratulate me and welcome me with opened arms. Or maybe I shouldn't get my hopes too high..._

"If you're doing it for me, I don't want it!" Hinata cried, angrily and choking. "I don't want you giving your life up so I can live!" She furiously jerked herself from Kakashi. "Let go of me!"

Naruto had to shove this to the side and continue crawling towards the edge, though he heard bits from Kakashi: "...he's made his decision." But then he was stopped when something rusty leaped in front of him. "Kurama, get out of my way!" he snapped, trying to shoo the fox. _Don't try to stop me!_

But the little beast wouldn't have it. "No, brat, I won't let you - WHOA!" He exclaimed in surprise when he nearly slid off and quickly regained his balance, just as the duo of rocks fell downwards, and when they touched the contents of the cauldron, the sparking scheme of red and gold blazed before their eyes, causing them to back away by an inch at the same time.

_That's what will happen when I get in - if only Kurama stands aside!_

"Naruto, you're not going into the evil thing!"

"But if I don't, all is lost!" he argued back, then jumped in his position when the fox was on him and put his paws on the human's chest, then leaned his head there. Kurama never did this before, was always dignified and restrained, but now in a moment of crisis -!

Kurama didn't look up when he declared this: "I won't let my friend die. I've acknowledged you as such ever since we met. I admire your spirit. I lost my family, but then I received friends in forms of you and those two." He nodded down to Kakashi and Hinata who were looking up with mist in their eyes.

"So, I will do this for you, so that you can have your friends and your life, and remember what I did."

Horror froze his heart like an ice cube as he realized what Kurama was going to do. "No, don't do it, Kurama," Naruto pleaded, staying where he was like an idiot as the fox took the sharp rock from his hands and rushed to the edge. "_DON'T DO THIS! NOOOO!"_

Some blood splattered the wretched concrete, and the next thing he knew, Kurama's body and the rock covered with his life's fluids were falling down into the cauldron, where red and gold flashed again, and the green mist began to suction back from whence it came.

_Oh, gods, noooo..._

Never mind that this was working, Naruto was so devastated that he stayed where he was for several moments, his heart burning and rolling with his pain. He put both hands before his eyes, feeling the nerves throb, too. Why did Kurama have to sacrifice himself in HIS place?! Why couldn't he just let _Naruto _do what he had to? Below, Hinata was embraced by Kakashi, leaning into him in return as they also mourned poor Kurama. But they continued to watch as the effects of the cauldron were reversed, praying the Dragon Emperor's soldiers were collapsing and hadn't gotten very far...

~o~

_Only moments away from my greatest victory..._

His new army was breathtakingly _beautiful_; never before had this been seen since time began. He was right to use the useless lapdog who was too frightened to fight and kill for his master, never mind he was younger than Kabuto, but his purpose ended up as a greater good which was occurring across this bridge and down the cliffs. These soldiers were already dead and could rejuvenate if physical harm befell them.

Albeit slowly, the Cauldron Born were in their glory and engulfed in emerald sulphur. Perhaps it would spread across the lands to resurrect more of the dead to add to the ranks...

Kabuto was over the moon, in a figurative manner of speaking, so Orochimaru let him be the way he wanted as the appropriate reaction to HIS approaching victory - for now. He looked forward to revealing his new face to the world, displaying himself as the human dragon he now was which he hid away and spilled blood and sweat for. As he promised young Naruto and his friends, he would ensure that all those who died had a purpose in the end. A new age was approaching.

_And so much to look forward to with these new powers. I feel the rush, the exhilaration, and the total control to have over those who will think twice before questioning me. And a certain old friend of mine I might have the pleasure of having one final battle with...oh, yessss._

But then something happened which caused his rage levels to rise. And Kabuto the fool had to point out that which was obvious! "Master Orochimaru, they're DYING!"

By dying, he referred to the fact that somehow, the cauldron had been _corrupted. _The green mist was morphing into bloody red, and numbers of the soldiers were collapsing and tumbling off the bridge. A handful were clutching at their throats as if for what little dear life they had left. The sight made Orochimaru livid to his core, bubbling like lava. Something had destroyed his majestic battalion, and someone was to blame. Glaring with his fangs bared - showing three rows of teeth now - he turned his attention to the little rat he thought he could trust just this once. He grasped the youth's throat with his clawed hand and lifted him off the ground. Kabuto gagged and gasped for breath.

"P-pl-please, Your Majesty! I didn't do anything! I don't know what happened! Maybe it would need a...nother body!"

The idea was indeed enticing, and he knew just who: _yes..._yours_. You will be the one to go into the cauldron. _

But before that could happen, a great puff of smoke sounded in his ears. He whirled around, cloak swishing about his limbs, and he beheld the sight of stone gray mingled with shades of crimson and silvery white which eventually parted to reveal a face he hadn't seen in barely three decades. He allowed a smirk to cross his inhuman features as the voice riveted his senses. This couldn't have been a more perfect timing, but internally, it had to happen when he was about to deliver this pathetic excuse of a right hand manservant to the hungry cauldron which needed to be restored.

_So, you choose now to arrive, my old friend. And your appearance - you have formed with that amphibian of yours, haven't you? How pathetic compared to what I am now. _

"It's been a very long time...Jiraiya."

The long white hair flared behind like a cloud, but those red-marked features were marred by a bulging nose and mismatched jaw which gave him the appearance of a toad. What he had done was fuse himself together with that toad of his - Bunta, if his memory served right, and it amazed him the little creature was still alive. "Long time, indeed," the other man answered, regarding him with a smile that didn't match the disgust in his eyes, "though I can't say that it's improved your looks. Too bad I was too late to miss your fun falling apart."

And speaking of which, he had to get the squirming Kabuto to the cauldron soon, but his former friend turned adversary was in his way. "Then get out of my way so that I can give the cauldron its replacement." He held up Kabuto by the scruff, but the young man didn't make Jiraiya flinch. Instead, there was pity and loathing.

"Sorry, Orochimaru, but if you're blaming HIM for what happened, you're wrong. Sadly, you're not gonna know what it was, and you'll have to go through me one last time. It's an eye for an eye!"

By "eye for an eye", he was referring to Tsunade, young Naruto's parents...and _Sayuri_. The old fool would see that his mistake in coming was the greatest one he was named for - but he supposed one last fight would be his chance to enjoy his new powers, and if he won, his old friend here would be a better candidate for the Dragon Cauldron.

The fight began with fire balls spewed from his own mouth, and water bombs from the other to cause enough of a ruckus and tear the dilapidated balcony over the bridge, but neither man fell to the treacherous depths along with bricks and rubble...instead heading downwards to the nearest window and carrying on their battle while the cauldron continued to suction any life-form in its path.

_If I am taken into my own creation, then I am finished. _

In midst of his master who intended to sacrifice him to the cauldron battling his enemy, Kabuto took advantage of the situation and hurried away with his life.

~o~

Perhaps he was being a hopeful fool again, but he had to wish that Kurama was still alive, except he saw the blood and knew it was impossible. He wanted to stay and get the body out, but the invisible forces sucking all life into the cauldron made him rethink his decision.

"There's nothing else you can do, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled over the loud whooshes of air which were threatening to bring them in the direction of the thing which took that poor man and Kurama's lives - though his own paw did so beforehand - and gave life to those walking bags of bones he knew were falling apart as they spoke.

Naruto lost his balance, finding hold on the ring attached to the wall, while Hinata and Kakashi were on the other side, and he had to shout at them to run for it while he got himself around - or at least hold on for dear life while that monstrosity was still taking everything it could...and he prayed it would get the one who became its master.

Above, out of nowhere, the ceiling exploded and released a gush of powerful energy - if not as much as the cauldron's absorbing - and in the smoke which spiraled downwards to be before the trio who were struggling to hold on for dear life, two shadowy forms danced in a violent tango with lightning flung at each other, fire against water, and hand to hand combat without the use of blades.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto heard himself gasp when he saw Orochimaru fighting another man who arrived from under all their noses, and even though the facial features were mostly inhuman - grotesque, if not as much as the dragon man's - he recognized who it was, along with those red tattoos and the long white hair. He yelled the name out, unable to help himself and impressed the Toad Sage held his ground even though the atmosphere was consuming their footing.

"PERVY SAGE! What are you doing here?!"

The old man laughed, looking him over briefly and assessing the crisis. "Been watching you thanks to Tonton and everything else I got at the cottage. Proud of you no matter the mistakes you made - and glad you made friends -" Now Naruto found himself looking over the corner to see where Kakashi and Hinata were, only to see they were gone and figured they must have run away, after all. "- but you really need my help now. And this here is your first time seeing me this way; Bunta and me used to form this way back in the day. Amplifies our strengths and lets us use nature energy."

_Nature energy to make you stronger...wow, that is amazing! But...Pervy Sage..._

Orochimaru glared first at him, shaking his head, and then whirled around in Naruto's direction, hair flying out behind him. "You came all this way to help your pig boy; why am I not surprised?" He narrowed his eyes then, looking in the direction of the cauldron.

"I see it now: you interfered, corrupted my creation and source of power. You ruined everything when you let the pig get away, and now you butcher the army I created. And now...you both shall die."

He thought he was going to take them both, did he? Not on his life. "If you think we're going down like that," Naruto shouted, his arms burning with holding onto the wall ring, "then you're dreaming! I'm not dying like my parents, Tsunade - and Sayuri!"

The mention of his lover he killed for power made the Dragon Emperor's rage burst like lava. "How...DARE you speak of her once again," Orochimaru snarled, ignoring Jiraiya altogether.

The man was on him, and his clawed hand was reaching for his face, but Naruto acted fast and mustered all the saliva he could - petty and gross as it was, but it was what he had to do so that he maintained his ground - and spat in the dragon man's face.

"Damn you!" Orochimaru's hands flew to his face, and the distraction caused him to end up being dragged towards the cauldron, but it was still a good distance away. He shouted wordlessly and cursed, but regained himself and returned to Jiraiya's direction, growling savagely. "You both - you will satisfy the cauldron's hunger!"

"Not them! I won't let you hurt them or us - or anyone else - anymore! Give our regards to HELL!"

The speaker above their heads was Hinata, with Kakashi behind her, and she had a new bow and arrow in hand. The shot was aimed directly for Orochimaru who was now focused on her, and he wove his hands together, forming a ball of purple light, but before he could throw it at her, she fired...and the arrow pierced him in the left eye. He bellowed in pain and lost control of the power he formed, which sent him backwards and further towards the thing which pulled him with such extraordinary gravitation despite what it granted him in exchange for life. Its core began to pulsate like a heart and blaze red...revealing a face never before seen. It was his own face, though rather than how he was in the flesh, this was a human skull framed with long hair coiling like snakes, and horned like a demon.

"NO, YOU WILL _NOT _HAVE ME! MY POWER CANNOT DIE! I AM THE IMMORTAL OROCHIMARU - THE DRAGON EMPEROR! I'M THE ONE WHO WILL HAVE EVERYTHING IN MY HANDS!"

"Naruto, grab onto me!" Jiraiya roared, dashing for him at the same time his adversary - no, THEIR adversary - found his way up the pedestal and came into contact with the cauldron. Naruto threw his arms around his mentor's back, wrapping them around his shoulders, and they were leaping away with force for the nearest pole they could hide behind until the events were finished blowing over. His heart was beating so hard by this point he thought it would burst and kill him. _It's a miracle I'm alive, that all of us are!_

Orochimaru let out one last curse to them before he met his final fate, and while it was nightmare oil to the fire, they would all look back and sigh with relief.

~o~

What he saw from above was horrifying, but at least he got away alive.

He saw his master battle Jiraiya the Toad Sage, then make way down below where the cauldron malfunctioned and was taking every last life-form it could. All except the trio of Naruto, the soldier from Konoha who really lost his touch, and the fairy princess who escaped somehow, which told him a third person came, but if it hadn't been the old man, then it was someone else who might have corrupted the cauldron - but Orochimaru held the young man to a fault instead of Kabuto, who could only watch the scene play out.

The Dragon Emperor tried to get to Naruto, to sacrifice him instead, but then an arrow was shot from above - by the girl Hinata, none other - and struck him in the eye, sending him towards the cauldron, where he screamed blasphemy and swore he wasn't going to die like this...

...and as soon as he held onto the thing which he created and offered in exchange for what he was now, the man whom Kabuto served and was threatened by for every mistake he made was being torn apart: his robes tattered, hair falling off in great clumps, and the flesh ripping off his bones until there was nothing left but a skeleton - _a horned skeleton_ \- that eventually blew to pieces.

"Oh, Master Orochimaru..."

The devastation didn't last, for he was ALIVE! And that meant he could find one of the dragons, fly out of here - with an uncertain future which would be difficult for awhile - and find his freedom.

**My father's prognosis is worse: he fell at rehab, hit his head, and was taken to the ICU. His doctor says he will either live like this or pass. :'( I am really scared so much. This chapter also pays tribute to these events. **


	11. The End of an Evil Era

**OOOH LA LA - THE FINAL CHAPTER. :D Enjoy the finale of this epic fantasy and leave reviews with LOTS O LOVING DETAIL. **

Chapter Eleven

The End of an Evil Era

The cauldron had begun to sink into the platform, taking everything with it and sparking fire as well as dark magic all around. Because of her and Master Jiraiya's efforts, Naruto was free to let go of his safety and latch onto his guardian who came to their rescue.

Hinata was glad she and Kakashi helped - well, actually, he was behind her and watched as she took aim to fire at a place which would stun and distract rather than inflict true injury. It was thrilling but also nightmarish to see Orochimaru get sucked into the cauldron he gained unlimited potential from, to see his flesh torn from his bones along with everything else - and bested by both his former comrade as well as the one he called pig boy, and by a woman with a bow and arrow! - but he was outnumbered in the end.

The Dragon Emperor was finally gone, his living men fleeing for their lives and his undead minions scattered about the grounds and the main bridge - but now the Oto temple was crumbling. They had to get out of here!

Kabuto the rat was gone; he was flying on the back of a dragon, onward to freedom. She saw it with her eyes and snorted. She figured he wouldn't want anything to do with having another master, but she couldn't care less anymore what happened to him, not to be cold.

Naruto was still holding onto Master Jiraiya's back when they leaped away from the floor which was crumbling as the pedestal carrying the cauldron, and if they stayed in this area where the upper levels and roofs were now coming crashing, they would go with the temple. "Get inside!" He had morphed into a real, gargantuan toad of dark gray and red, opening his bulbous mouth for them to get inside, though poor Naruto thought he was going to be sick as he was inside the mouth of the beast who was really the man who cared for him.

_Though I have to say, it is unnerving to be in claustrophobic, stifling and slimy surroundings. Kakashi isn't taking this any better...poor man looking like he can't hold it in any longer. _

Hinata kept her Byakugan on so she could see what was happening as the giant toad leaped over splitting floors and then ducked under alcoves, daring the fires which were falling in sparky balls, until coming across the underground moat which would take them out of here. He swam under the gate which ended beneath the water, but it blocked him; he managed to pry it open with all his strength and glide through the murky water.

Just as they were away from Oto Temple underwater - in the system of the great toad - the structure burst into fire and collapsed into rubble which sank into the little sea.

Here they stood on the banks now, away from the site but below the mountains, watching as the enemy's residence perished and continued to burn in its demise. Perhaps the cauldron would remain there forever, or until someone else found it...

Jiraiya was back to his human self, with his toad friend Bunta now perched on his shoulder. Kakashi was to his left, arms folded across his chest just like the older man, and that left her and Naruto: he leaned his head on her shoulder, and she wrapped her arm around his back. He had the glaze in his eyes. It was for Kurama, the poor thing whose body was still in that accursed cauldron beneath that rubble - and speak of the devil, there it was. Disturbing not only the waters, but also their moment of solace.

"Kurama..." Naruto whispered the name harshly, raising his head from her shoulder but not leaving her side. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

"That little friend of yours, I take it? I'm really sorry, Naruto." Then a small smile appeared. "You really warmed him up; I saw everything. If he'd..." Then he stopped there. "Well, I would have been glad to let him into our little family because of you. And you, too, Hinata. No way your father would disagree with me."

Happy as it made her, it didn't feel like a joyous time despite a great victory being won, though that still left Orochimaru's men who were still out there as they stood here. But it wasn't the only issue they had to contend with at the present, besides the useless Dragon Cauldron which was now floating their way towards the shoreline; it was the unwanted, familiar cackle which sounded above their heads.

"You horrible...horrible witches!" Hinata shouted, unafraid. "You have the nerve to show up at this time!"

~o~

They had the gall to show up at this time, did they?! _"Oh, look at how sad this is, sisters: got what he wanted and still isn't satisfied." _

_You insensitive -!_ Naruto was about to open his mouth and shout the words, but Kakashi beat him to it. "Just what do you think you women are up to?"

_"We simply have business with our little hero,"_ Yuugao answered, throwing her hair back over her shoulder casually, though Mei was doing most of it as she was batting her lashes at Kakashi who ignored her altogether.

The word "hero" was a bad taste on his mouth, no matter the words of Pervy Sage he wanted so much to hear - and sweet Hinata who comforted him over the loss of the one he spoke of. "No, _Kurama_ was the hero. He got in my way, and I tried to stop him, so all I did in the end was assist in pushing Orochimaru towards that damned thing, let all my friends get away afterwards. I don't even deserve to be called a hero."

"Naruto!" Jiraiya scolded him, shaking his head. "What did I tell you?" He glared up at Yuugao when she snidely pointed out the obvious.

_"You know, dear Jiraiya, he was right. All he wanted was the cauldron - the one which you and your friends gave to us to guard, did you not? Now that its powers are all but lost, we can just...take it and be on our way."_

And if they took the cauldron, it meant they would take Kurama's body with it! It was an outrage and therefore sparked it from Jiraiya and Kakashi together, while Naruto and Hinata watched and held onto each other. "Now, you don't get to do that!" the old man shouted. "What happened to the way you do things around here - like _bargaining _and _trading_?" He raised both his eyebrows, which piqued a similar reaction from Yuugao who arched a penciled brow. Anko licked her lips and Mei shook her hips with excitement.

_"Sister Yuugao, the old geezer just used 'bargain'!" _the bloodthirsty one shrilled, and it was hard to tell if it was disdain or ecstasy.

"That's right," Kakashi answered. "Your ears heard him right." He scoffed at Mei who called him a darling man. "Woman, pull yourself together. What's the offer?! We just went through hell and back to save our home and ourselves!"

Naruto should have expected what it was, if they would take the cauldron back and add to their collection: the sword of the warrior he gave in exchange for what nearly destroyed them - and took away the beast who got them in exchange for his old life taken from him. Anko was watching as she leaned further in, Mei behind her and giddy but composed, while Yuugao simply pouted and crossed her arms across her bosom.

"...I don't accept this," Naruto said finally, closing his eyes and ignoring the witches and his friends. "I'm not a warrior - I'm a pig boy. My parents were warriors, and they died saving my life and our lands. I tried to do that and failed. What use would I have of a sword?" He paused there and let himself think about this, after only a few seconds. He knew, deep down in his heart, that THIS was what he wanted out of everything else.

"But...I would trade the cauldron for...Kurama's life."

_Restoring life to a dead being? It HAS to be the answer. It just has to be!_

His bargain was a shocker to not only the witches - "Impossible!" was their shared response, but mostly from Yuugao and Anko while Mei slapped her face with both hands - for Jiraiya looked at him with a grim face, Hinata's jaw was slack, but Kakashi hardly seemed surprised. And for that, he took the witches' disbelief as his means to get them to give Naruto what he wanted, which was just amazing, and he had to thank the silver-haired man after this.

"Just as I thought, ladies: you have no real power - not even to bring back a dead one who means the universe to my friend here! Admit it!"

His calling their bluff visibly enraged them, but instead of wasting time to fight back with words, they transformed themselves into miniature, amethyst tornadoes and swirled down from their place, reaching the cauldron which was still in the water before it was elevated out by their forces of nature, taking it with them into the storm.

The cauldron was engulfed then in a light so bright it could have been mistaken for the sun, which didn't shine in these lifeless lands. It nearly blinded them all that he and the others had to shield their eyes. Yuugao's voice cackled down to them.

_"We have made our bargain."_

Then the light was gone, replaced with a small tornado which seemed almost like a natural one, and it touched the ground before vanishing completely.

There lay Kurama's corpse on the ground. _You witches...all you could do was just return him the way he is now. _

Seeing him made Naruto kneel beside him, then hesitantly pick up the body, cradling it. The dam of his heart broke, releasing the tears that scalded his cheeks. He forced himself to look up and see Hinata doing the same, turning to bury herself into Jiraiya this time, and the old man's face was abject grief and sorrow like Kakashi who bowed his head.

Naruto's eyes flashed with the memories before them: the first time he met the little grouch when Tonton ran off - which was the first of his faults - and out of the kindness of his heart giving the beast something to fast on even though it wasn't meat, which ended up being the first connection when neither realized it. And then the second time when he found the fox in the gardens of the protective cottage, ultimately finishing with the perilous adventure they were on...ending with a sacrifice Naruto was prepared to make. _You did it because you wanted me to live, and you also did it because you cared about..._

It was then that he noticed how the little body, though cold, was still warm in places and not stiff with rigor mortis - and then he was taken aback when he felt something touch his face...a PAW!

He opened his burning eyes and saw a pair of dark ones looking him square. "Don't squeeze me to death, brat. I was in the dark only to end up here again, and I thought I was going back." A grunt of mild pain seemed in contrast to how he felt when he first ended up in the cauldron.

"KURAMA!" So, the bargain wasn't in vain, after all! "You're ALIVE!" Naruto laughed and cried at the same time, dropping to his knees and taking the fox back into his embrace.

"He's alive! The clever little thing is ALIVE" Hinata was overjoyed, too, throwing her arms first around Kakashi and then Jiraiya who was guffawing and lifting her up. _You'd better not try flirting with her after this, Pervy Sage. _

Above them, the sun was coming out for the first time in dreary Oto, which amplified the joyous moment...and it was also here that Naruto experienced something he never had in his life and had no idea what to think about, besides the pleasant feeling.

During the group hug, he and Hinata ended up being tricked by the sly fox into sharing their first kiss.

~o~

When the news spread across the lands that Orochimaru was defeated - and who had done it - there was a great celebration which involved flowers in the air and parties that lasted well into the night. People were in the streets dancing and laughing, though there were also those mourning the ones they lost...and welcomed back Kakashi with opened arms.

Kakashi himself eventually settled down and became supervisor of the next generation who would become soldiers, but he also was the best storyteller Konoha ever knew - and regaled the young generation not only with his adventures, but the ones of the Serpent King, to remind them of how there was always evil outside that they would one day have to drive away in order to protect what they held dear. This one especially would have them huddling close together.

Jiraiya was more than happy to have an extended family, not only with Naruto and dear Tonton, but now Kakashi - who had no living relatives and lost nearly all his friends - and things were looking up again. But as always, memories would be honored.

Hinata's family began to reemerge along with the fair folk they guarded, since there would be no one to threaten them - at least, not for a while longer. Life worked out in this manner and always would.

There was nothing further spoken about the Dragon Cauldron when Oto fell, but there was one thing certain: with Orochimaru gone, its powers were useless, so any more wicked men would be wasting their time.

Speaking of which, Orochimaru's living henchmen were eventually rounded up and executed. It was all over to the point of extinction for the Serpent King turned Dragon Emperor.

Now was left one more reason to celebrate: the wedding of Naruto and Hinata.

The occasion took place within the forest, when summer began and the flora of every color were in bloom. Nearly all the villagers were in attendance, along with all fair folk and Hiashi and Hanabi, even Jiraiya and his toad Bunta, ending with Kurama and Tonton being there...with Kakashi marrying the couple with an honor.

The bride herself was a pristine illusion with white flowers covering her assets and yet revealing so much skin, flowing around her crystalline legs, and her braided hair strategically placed with lily-of-the-valley. Her groom, on the other hand, was in a simple white tunic and trousers. Both were in a year-long try of a relationship that they had no time to explore when on their quest, but when all was at peace, here they were now. And Kurama the crafty fox was to thank with that kiss he tricked them into that day.

For Naruto's part, there were no more regrets as he kissed his new wife, grateful that his friends and his guardian were here - and knew his parents as well as Tsunade were watching from somewhere - and had every reason to be proud of everything he did with their help. After all, everyone made mistakes and had to learn from them.

What better way to end an evil era than with a day filled with magic, friendship and love?

**So, unlike usual, the story ends with an epilogue that doesn't go into fancy detail after the explosive climax. Just know that everything turned out well, happily for now, and I'm happy with how this story came out despite all the craziness currently in my life. :) **

**Sadly, no sequel is in making, so don't ask for more, please. But if anyone is interested, feel free to look at "An Offer She Can't Refuse" (if anyone is a fan of ItaSaku). :3 Except, because of how my life is going and with a lack of knowing what will happen, I MAY put it on hiatus until things are straightened out. Just preparing everyone in case. **


End file.
